


The Dead of Night

by velvetjinx



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), Captain America (Movies), Resident Evil (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blood and Gore, Cannibalism, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Child Death, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Dubious Science, Eventual Happy Ending, Game: Resident Evil 2, Graphic Description of Corpses, Gun Violence, Heavy Angst, Implied Graphic Child Death, Knives, M/M, Mutual Pining, Original Character Death(s), Peril, Resident evil apocalypse movie, Survival Horror, T-Virus, Violence, Zombies, referenced internalized homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 10:37:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 34,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22547908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velvetjinx/pseuds/velvetjinx
Summary: When Bucky Barnes discovers that he's been lied to by his employers, as well as an alarming secret about their agenda, he turns to his former childhood friend Steve Rogers of Raccoon City Police Department. But can they make it out of the city to find help before it's too late?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 31
Kudos: 60





	1. PROLOGUE - GAME OVER

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Steve and Bucky fighting zombies](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/556228) by Hopelessgeek. 

> A million, billion thanks to [Hope](https://hopelessartgeek.tumblr.com) for letting me use the most amazing zombie au Stucky art ever as inspiration. I love Stucky, I love Resident Evil, this was a match made in heaven for me. 
> 
> Romanticalgirl: your betaing made this a better fic. So many thanks.
> 
> To Evie, Meg, Issa, Erin, Ria... everyone who cheerleaded me through this. I love you ❤️ 
> 
> Many of the chapter titles (though not all) are references to or quotes from video games. Not just Resident Evil. Some are just puns. (I COULDN'T HELP IT OKAY I'M WEAK)
> 
> I'll be posting a chapter a day until it's done so keep an eye out! (The fic is complete, I just wanna torment y'all lol)

_ Ben Howard Military Base, Just Off US Highway 2, Washington State, 16th October 2020 _

“Fuck, Steve! Don’t you fucking dare die on me, you bastard!”

Steve’s vision was turning dark, and he was vaguely aware of Bucky sticking something sharp into his arm before everything went black and he knew no more. 


	2. CHAPTER ONE - IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE

_ Raccoon City, Near Lake Wenatchee State Park, Washington State, 12 Hours Earlier _

Sergeant Steve Rogers of Raccoon City Police Department flopped onto his sofa, switching on the TV. It had been a long day; he hadn’t got home until after nine p.m. as there had been a homicide investigation to wrap up, as well as several call-outs. 

Frankly, Steve just wanted to drink his beer, and relax in front of a good movie. 

He ordered takeout—his favorite pizza (meat feast) from his favorite pizza place (Bob’s Pizza Palace)—and kicked his slippers off before stretching his legs out down the sofa. His head was supported by several soft cushions, and the room was pleasantly warm. All in all, it was the perfect start to what would hopefully be a perfect evening. 

The TV droned on, although Steve wasn’t really paying attention, too hungry and tired to focus on the old episode of Judge Judy. Besides, a courtroom program? Felt way too much like being at work. 

His doorbell rang, and Steve sat up quickly. Wow, his pizza was never usually delivered  _ that _ fast. He opened the door, but the man standing there wasn’t holding pizza boxes. He did, however, look vaguely familiar. His long brown hair fell down to his shoulders, and under his red t-shirt and light brown jacket, Steve could tell he was well built. But his face… sharp cheekbones, chiseled jawline, blue-gray eyes like a stormy sea…

“Hey, Steve,” the man said softly, and Steve’s heart gave a nostalgic thud. 

“Bucky? Bucky Barnes, is that you?”

The man—Bucky—gave him a lopsided smile. “Yeah. It’s me.”

Steve couldn’t help the surprised chuckle. “Fuck, man, it’s been forever. You wanna come in?”

“Please.”

Steve moved to one side to let Bucky pass, but although he was intrigued by this visit from his childhood friend, he was also confused. It wasn’t like he’d seen or heard from Bucky since before they left high school. 

“No offense, Bucky, but what are you doing here?”

“I’ve been back in Raccoon City for a couple of years now,” Bucky said quickly, dodging the question so blatantly that Steve couldn’t help but give a derisive snort. 

“Yeah, so I heard through the grapevine, but that’s not what I meant and you know it,” he said. “What are you doing here, in my house?”

“I need your help.” Before Steve could say anything, Bucky held up his hand. “Look, it’s a really long story, so we should probably sit down or something.”

Steve shrugged, leading Bucky through to the living room. Bucky sat on one of the armchairs, and Steve took the sofa. 

“Okay, we’re sitting. Spill.”

“I studied biochemistry at college,” Bucky said slowly. “The military put me through, let me do my doctorate before shipping me out to three tours in Afghanistan, then various other places in the Middle East. Two years ago, I received an honorable discharge after being wounded in the hip. Got my hip replaced—it’s good as new now—and was headhunted by a laboratory here in Raccoon City. They told me they were military funded. Told me that I’d be working on important chemical weapons research for the USA.”

“What…”

Bucky cut Steve off. “But something really wasn’t right about the whole setup. The longer I worked there, the more of a bad feeling I got about the research we’d been asked to do. The formula we’d been asked to develop. Mainly because what we were developing wasn’t going to do anything—was missing several ingredients if it was going to be remotely effective as a weapon. It was all way too suspicious. Two days ago…” Bucky looked down at his hands, his voice going quiet. “Two days ago, I let myself into the lab next door to the one I worked in—where the other half of the biochemists worked. I saw a sheet of paper with a model of the formula they were working on, and the model I saw, when combined with what I’d been working on, had the potential to be really dangerous.”

“I’m not getting it,” Steve said, frowning. “If it’s a weapon, of course it’s meant to be dangerous. And maybe they kept the halves secret for security.”

Bucky shook his head. “No, you’re  _ not _ getting it. This weapon was a virus. I did some calculations, ran some scenarios. The virus would kill the host, but keep its basic motor functions going. So no heartbeat, no brain activity, beyond the ability to move and the drive to eat. Basically, it would turn the infected host into a kind of undead killing machine.”

Steve stared at Bucky for a moment, then began to laugh. What the fuck did Bucky take him for? “Wow, okay, I don’t know what kind of game this is, but seriously, you had me going for a second there. The military, making undead killing machines! That’s a new one on me.”

“No, Steve. It’s not a joke.”

“Then I need to get you to the hospital,” Steve said, sobering, “because you’re obviously having some kind of nervous breakdown and need some serious help.”

“I swear I’m not,” Bucky said, fidgeting agitatedly. “I think I’ve got an idea for an antivirus, but I need you to help me get it to the authorities.”

“But you just said this company was military funded?”

“Steve. It’s not the military.”

“But then…”

“They  _ told _ me they were military funded. They lied to me. Probably to others too. When I realized something was up, I broke into the office of one of the lab coordinators, and hacked his computer. They’re definitely  _ not _ anything to do with the military—or at least, not the US military. They’re a private company, called Umbrella Corporation. There were a bunch of files about plans to auction off the virus to the highest bidder, with records of bids already coming in from warlords and some group called Hydra. Seeing that… I freaked out and I ran. I’ve been hiding out in a motel on the outskirts of the city ever since, trying to figure out what the hell to do. ”

“So why me?” Steve asked. “Why come to me when we haven’t seen each other for at least fourteen years, you never let me know you were back in town—we haven’t even spoken since…” He trailed off, and Bucky frowned. 

“Because unless you’ve changed in some fundamental way, you’re the same Steve i knew. You’re strong-willed and always fight to do the right thing. Besides,” Bucky added, sighing, “you work for the RPD. You know how to handle yourself in crisis situations.”

“Yeah, okay. Fair enough,” Steve said. 

“As for why I didn’t let you know I was back in town… I guess I just didn’t even know where to start.”

Steve frowned. “So now you’ve decided to come to me with this… insane conspiracy theory,” he said, doubt coloring his tone. 

Bucky gave him a pleading look. “I swear to you, Steve. It’s all true. I’m not delusional and I’m not making it up. And I can prove it.” He reached into the pocket of his jacket, and took out a small flash drive. “I downloaded a bunch of files here. They’re scary as shit, but you need to read them if you’re gonna be convinced.” Steve made to take the flash drive, but Bucky pulled his hand back. “First… I’m gonna need you to disconnect your laptop from the internet.”

“Bucky, what…”

“They’ll possibly be able to trace the files if you don’t, and I really don’t want to put you in any more danger than I have to—than I probably already have by coming here.”

Steve gave Bucky a long look, then sighed. “Fine.” He disconnected his laptop from WiFi, showing Bucky what he’d done, then took the flash drive and plugged it in. 

There were thirty files on there, all with fairly unassuming file names. Unsure why the fuck he was humoring Bucky, who clearly had some serious issues, Steve opened the first one. 

Holy  _ shit _ . 

It was like something from a movie. The file detailed the development of something called the ‘T-virus’—a biological weapon developed using leeches as hosts. This T-virus basically killed the infected human host—just like Bucky had said—except for certain basic functions. 

The second file was the history of Umbrella Corporation. Steve skimmed it briefly, but there didn’t seem to be anything useful or pertinent, so he closed that one. 

The next one detailed possible buyers for the T-virus; the next, people in power that they’d bought off, including the RPD Chief. Jesus. This thing read like notes for a spy thriller. Steve looked at Bucky. “The Chief? I’m surprised you even trusted me then.”

Bucky shrugged. “Like I said—if you’re the Steve I knew, you do the right thing. There’s no way you’d be in on something like this.”

Steve couldn’t help but believe Bucky now. Unless Bucky had written these himself for some weird, paranoid reason of his own, which Steve very much doubted, every word Bucky had said was true. 

“Fuck. Bucky, that’s…” Steve took a deep breath, and Bucky shook his head. 

“I know. But the really scary part is this one.”

Bucky opened a file about halfway down the list, and Steve read the contents in horror. The file contained a proposal to test the virus on a large population, in order to track the spread and to show off the efficacy to potential buyers. 

The file didn’t say when, but it had Steve worried. When they said large population, did they mean Raccoon City? Did they mean Seattle? New York? Shanghai? What did large mean? 

“What should we do?” Steve croaked, throat dry with fear. 

“I have an idea,” Bucky said quietly. “I can’t say that I’m not under surveillance, or that they haven’t been tracking me, so calling anyone from here is out. I haven’t used my cell in two days, just in case. But I think I know where we can get help. There’s a military base just through the mountains, about halfway between here and Seattle, so if we can get to that we’ll be able to warn them of what might be coming. Besides,” he added, “Since I escaped the lab, I’ve been using my laptop offline to model an antivirus based on the model of the T-virus itself. I’m pretty sure it’ll work, but because it’s theoretical and totally untested we won’t know if it works until we actually get to the base.”

“And how do you intend to test it?”

Bucky grinned, and took a small hard-covered case from his pocket. Inside was a test tube filled with a suspension liquid. 

“Stole a sample of the virus before I left,” he said, tone bordering on smug. Steve had to hand it to him; that was excellent forward thinking. 

“So there must be a lab at this base?”

Bucky nodded, putting the case back inside his pocket. “Yeah. The base is huge, and there’s a large, mostly unused lab wing in the basement. They used it during various recent wars to create chemical weapons.”

Steve raised an eyebrow, but when Bucky didn’t elaborate, he took another tack. 

“So how quickly does this virus spread? I mean, if they were to release the virus in Seattle tomorrow, at what point would the base be compromised?”

“Jesus, Steve. I don’t know! Let’s hope they don’t. Let’s hope they’re not at that stage yet, because we’ll be pretty fucked if they release it on a city that big. I do know that they were done with both halves of the virus, and all they had to do was combine the research into their model. But I don’t know when they plan this test, which is why we have to move fast. So come on. Are you in or are you out?”

Frowning, Steve thought for a moment. If all this was true—and it looked like it was, god help them—then Bucky’s plan was probably their only recourse.

He nodded. “Sure. I’m in.”

Bucky’s expression turned relieved. “Okay. Good. You’re probably gonna need your shoes though.”

Steve laughed, and went to find his sneakers and jacket. As he tied his sneakers, Judge Judy—which was still on in the background—suddenly switched to the local news. Steve looked up sharply to see an announcer and shaky video of a group of people walking slowly toward the camera.

_ “We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news of an apparent viral outbreak in Raccoon City. Reports of infected humans biting others have come in, among with rumors of partial cannibalism. Some victims have already died of their wounds. Initial reports from experts suggest that this may be an accelerated form of the rabies virus, given several similarities, but without the incubation period. Unlike the common strain of the virus, victims don’t appear to have hyperactivity, but instead are moving slowly through the city. We recommend that people remain in their homes with doors and windows locked until the source of the outbreak is ascertained and the situation is under control.” _

Bucky made a strangled noise, and Steve looked over at him. Bucky was staring at the TV, skin pale as a ghost. 

“Bucky?”

Bucky's eyes were wide and frightened as he turned toward him. “Shit, Steve. It’s not rabies those people are spreading. It’s the T-virus. Umbrella has released the T-virus in Raccoon City.”


	3. CHAPTER 2 - THE THINGS THAT MAKE US HUMAN

Bucky felt himself start to panic, and tried to control his breathing. Steve gave him an alarmed look. 

“Bucky, what do you mean ‘it’s the virus’?”

“They’ve released it. But not in Seattle—they’ve released it right here in Raccoon City.”

“Why would they do that?”

“I don’t know.” Bucky started to pace the floor. “It could be an accidental release. It could be the test that file was talking about. It could be that they’ve changed location and date of the test in order to stop me from going to the authorities or going public. I don’t know! All I know is, what’s out there isn’t rabies and staying in your house isn’t gonna help.”

“But if they move so slowly…?”

Bucky gave a hoarse laugh. “They’re strong too. The virus increases their muscle mass by a moderate percentage.”

“Shit. What the fuck do we do?”

“Well, first, you’re gonna need your gun,” Bucky said grimly. 

“I’m not going to kill innocent people!”

“They’re not innocent people any more, Steve. They’re not people! They’re killers. You heard the news. They’re killing and eating people without conscience. There’s no person left in there.”

“God.” Steve’s expression was appalled. Bucky couldn’t blame him. Ever since he had found out what he’d been duped into working on, he’d felt disgusted, and guilty. Guilty that he would be partially responsible for the damage if and when they did release it. But there was nothing he could do now except try and help prevent the spread of the virus further than the city. 

“I know.”

“Well, then, are these… things gonna be easy to kill? Two to the chest do it?”

Bucky shook his head. “That won’t cut it with these things. The virus has been designed to make them resilient, although they do have weaknesses—or they should, anyway, given the way the virus works.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like I said, the infection should increase muscle mass, but at the same time causing vitamin D deficiency and degradation of cranial osteoclasts.”

“Which means what, exactly?”

“Which means that it softens their craniums, and it makes them slow moving since, although their muscles are stronger, their bones are far weaker than a living human. Aim for the head every time, and run as fast as you can to escape them.”

“And that should kill them?”

Bucky nodded. “Yeah. I mean, their motor functions are limited, but the virus still needs a brain to continue existing. Destroy that, you kill the host and the virus.”

“Okay.” Steve took a deep breath. “So what’s the plan?”

“Get out of Raccoon City,” Bucky replied. “If we can outrun the spread of the virus and get to the base, we can create the antivirus and go from there.”

“Sounds good.” Steve grabbed his jacket and holstered his gun, then clapped Bucky on the shoulder. “Our first stop, though, is RPD station. We need to warn any on-duty officers, and maybe we can call for help from there.”

“But if your Chief is in on it, who knows who else is?” Bucky protested.

‘I don’t think we have much choice right now. Plus…” Steve glanced down at his own gun. “Plus if it’s as bad as you say it is, if we’re gonna get out the city you’re gonna need a weapon or two as well, and I definitely need more firepower and ammunition. By the time we leave RPD, I have no doubt that the roads will be chaos with people trying to get out of the city, so we’ll probably be quicker on foot until we reach the city limits. Even with the number of people who’ll be out on the streets. We’re only about three miles to the western edge of town.”

“Good plan. And then?”

“Then we get the hell out of Raccoon City.”

Bucky nodded, and followed Steve out of the house, trying not to laugh as Steve locked the door behind him. He thought about telling Steve that it wouldn’t make that much of a difference, but held back. Maybe they’d get lucky. Maybe it would be resolved quickly.

Maybe pigs might fly. 

The streets were already packed full of cars, blocking the roads as people yelled out their windows at one another. Luckily, it didn’t seem that the infected had reached their part of the city yet, though Bucky knew it was only a matter of time. 

“At least we’ll have a clear path to RPD,” Steve said over the noise, as though reading Bucky’s mind. 

“Yeah. We’d better hurry, though. We don’t know how long that’s gonna last.”

The RPD station was only three blocks from Steve’s house, and they managed to get there without incident. Steve set a fast walking pace, which Bucky easily kept up with. Despite the fact that he’d been spending all his work hours in a lab the last couple of years—or perhaps because of this—he’d been hitting the gym harder than he had done even in the military. He wasn’t so bulked up that he looked ridiculous, but he had a good strength and muscle mass. It looked like Steve kept himself in shape too, although Bucky was decidedly not thinking about how good his old friend looked. This was not the time for that—if any time was the time for that, given their history. 

When they arrived at the station, the outer glass doors were locked. Steve knocked on the glass, and a young blonde woman, with wide, scared looking blue eyes, unlocked them to let them in. 

“Sergeant Rogers!” she cried as they walked in. “Thank god you’re here, I’ve been so scared here all by myself!”

She locked the door behind them, and Steve frowned. 

“By yourself? Where are the officers on duty?”

The girl shrugged. “They’ve all been called out to incidents across the city. This rabies outbreak? But Detective Jones radioed back here about ten minutes ago, saying he needed backup, and then there was a weird crunching noise and the radio went dead. I haven’t been able to make contact with him since.”

“Don’t worry, Susan,” Steve said, his tone soothing. “I’m sure it’ll all be fine.”

Bucky was pretty sure it  _ wouldn’t  _ be fine, but when he opened his mouth to say so, Steve shot him a warning look. 

“Yeah?” Susan looked so hopeful. 

Steve smiled at her. “Yeah. We’ll fix everything. This is my friend Bucky, who’s going to be helping me deal with the rabies outbreak. He’s a scientist.”

Susan beamed at Bucky. “That’s awesome! I’m working my way through college right now. I’m going to be a physicist.” She turned back to Steve. “It’s your big day next week, isn’t it?”

Bucky shot Steve a curious look, as a deep blush spread over Steve’s cheeks. “Uh, yeah, I guess so,” Steve said. 

“It’s so exciting that you’re finally making Captain. In my opinion,” Susan lowered her voice, even though they were the only ones in the building, “it’s about time you got the recognition you deserve. Especially after you saved that old guy from drowning!”

Bucky had known about the rescue—it had been all over the Raccoon City Gazette’s front page; he could hardly have missed it—but he hadn’t known about Steve’s upcoming promotion. 

“Thanks, Susan.” Steve was obviously embarrassed and looking for a way to escape; Bucky remembered that he had never been good at taking compliments, even when they were kids. And while Bucky would have loved to hang out with Susan and tease Steve some more, they were on a deadline. 

He gave Steve a meaningful look, and Steve cleared his throat. 

“Anyway, Susan, we’ve got to go. If you hear anything else from the squad, please let me know.”

“Of course!” Susan said brightly. “Nice to meet you, Bucky!”

“You too, Susan.”

“Keep the doors locked, okay?” Steve told her, and she nodded. 

“I will.”

Steve motioned for Bucky to follow him, and they went up the large staircase in the middle of the room. Through a maze of corridors they went, until they reached a locked door. 

Steve input a code into the keypad, and opened the door to reveal the station armory. 

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “Expecting a war, Rogers?”

Steve laughed. “Yeah, the armory is pretty much overkill, no pun intended. I don’t know what kinds of riots they’re expecting from the good citizens of Raccoon City.”

“Maybe the chief of police wasn’t as sure of Umbrella as he seemed to be. Works in our favor, though,” Bucky murmured, eyeing a very nice Colt M4 Carbine in the corner. 

“Help yourself.”

Steve picked up a sheathed knife, and Bucky followed suit. Knives were only really good for close combat, and you didn’t really want to get that close to one of these infected humans, but if the occasion arose…

They also wouldn’t need too much ammo. Not since they were heading straight out of the city. Raccoon City was pretty small; half the size of Seattle. But then it was pretty densely populated, which would make this outbreak a little harder to deal with. Maybe it was best to stock up after all. 

He grinned as Steve strapped on a holster with two HK VP9SKLE handguns. 

“Nice.”

“Thanks,” Steve retorted with a grin. “These pack a bit more of a punch than my regular weapon.”

“Good plan.” There was another holster and more of the same make of handguns, so Bucky snagged two as well, before pocketing a hefty police baton. Again, a close combat weapon, but he figured it would be heavy enough to destroy the infected creatures’ craniums if they got close. He then made a beeline for the Colt rifle while Steve picked up a Remington 870 shotgun. 

“Good choice.”

“Thanks.” Steve glanced at the gun in Bucky’s hands. “A rifle? Really?”

Bucky shrugged. “I was a sniper when I served. I’ll feel better in the field with one of these in hand.”

“Fair enough.”

Steve was about to walk out when Bucky grabbed his arm. “We’re gonna need to take as much ammo with us as we can. We don’t know how many infected are out there, or how many there will be by the time we reach the outskirts of the city.”

“Okay.”

They each grabbed a backpack, loading it with ammo. Bucky spotted a variety of hand grenades in the corner, and motioned to Steve. Steve looked shocked. 

“No. Buck, we can’t take grenades into civilian areas.”

“Steve,” Bucky said, fast running out of patience, “this infection is brutal, fatal, and has the potential to spread fast. Until I know what we’re dealing with, I’d rather be safe than sorry. For all we know, there are areas of the city where there are no civilians left. Only infected.”

“Come on, Buck, you don’t think…”

“I do. Steve; you don’t know, can’t know, how vital it is to be fully prepared. If this company, this Umbrella, can make  _ one _ virus…”

“Fuck.” Steve let out a long breath. “Okay. We’ll take some grenades.” He turned towards the riot gear. “Should we wear this too, for protection?”

Bucky shook his head. “No. It’s too heavy; it’ll only slow us down. The idea is to outrun the infected, if they’re as slow moving as we hope they are.”

“That’s a pretty big if,” Steve replied, looking doubtful. “Can the virus infect animals other than humans?”

That gave Bucky pause. “I honestly don’t know.”

Steve snorted. “Great. So we’re basically going in with no real knowledge of what we’re going in  _ to _ .”

“Yup.”

“Ain’t that just the way I like my deadly dangerous situations.”

“Ass.” Bucky pushed Steve’s shoulder, feeling like a teenager again, like they were just kids hanging out like they used to. But of course that wasn’t the case. 

Steve noticed his change in mood immediately. “What’s wrong?”

Bucky just shook his head. Nostalgia wasn’t going to do them any favors. “Nothing. Just thinking about what we’re gonna be facing out there.”

“Yeah.” Steve’s face screwed up in distaste. “These infected humans don’t sound too nice.”

“Creatures,” Bucky corrected him. “Infected may be in human bodies, but they’re not really human. Or at least, they were in human bodies. Once they’re infected, I don’t know exactly what you’d class them as.”

“Good old fashioned monsters?” Steve was joking, like he didn’t realize the full severity of the situation. He probably didn’t, Bucky realized. Yeah, Steve had read the files, but Bucky knew all too well the kind of damage this virus could do. Steve didn’t know the science behind it, so he wouldn’t. 

“You’re closer to right than wrong,” Bucky muttered. 

“Hmm.” Steve shrugged. “Come on. We’ll use the phones here to call for backup.”

Steve led Bucky through the corridor to the squad room. There was a half-finished cup of coffee on one of the desks; an apple core on another. Most of the desks were decorated with pictures of partners or children. Or both. 

The steady ticking of the large clock on the wall brought Bucky back to himself. He watched Steve pick up a phone receiver, then frown. 

“What’s up?”

“The line’s dead,” Steve said slowly. He tried each phone in turn. “They’re all dead.” He took his cellphone out of his pocket and glanced at it. “Fuck, no reception.”

Bucky checked his cell too. No reception on that either. “What the fuck? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but…”

Whatever Steve was going to say, Bucky would never know, as at that moment the whole city was plunged into darkness. 


	4. CHAPTER 3 - THE COURAGE TO WALK INTO THE DARKNESS

“Fuck, what the fuck is going on?” Steve swore, completely confused, as he hunted for a flashlight. 

“Jesus.” Bucky laughed hoarsely from somewhere to his left. “They’ve cut the power. Cut the power, cut the phone lines, taken out the cell towers.”

“Who?” Steve asked, finally finding a flashlight in one of the desk drawers. He switched it on, shining it in the general direction of Bucky’s voice. 

Bucky held up his hand in front of his eyes. “Fuck’s sake, Steve, careful where you’re pointing that thing.”

“Sorry,” Steve apologized sheepishly, lowering the flashlight. “Who?” he asked again. 

“Umbrella. Who else? They’ve cut off communications and made sure no one can warn anyone outside the city of what’s happening.”

“Why would they do that?” Steve asked, aghast. 

“They probably don’t want things to be over too quickly,” Bucky replied. “This must be a demonstration for potential buyers, to show how much damage it can do. They’ve taken out power and communications so the city is by itself in this.”

Steve couldn’t bring himself to believe it. “But… that would be completely evil!”

“Yeah, it would,” Bucky said grimly. “The same kind of evil that creates a deadly virus to sell to the highest bidder as a weapon?”

Steve’s mouth twisted. “You have a point. So what now?”

“You don’t have a satellite phone, do you?” Bucky asked, sardonic tone a juxtaposition with his hopeful words. 

“Nope.”

“Didn’t think so.”

“Local budget cuts, man,” Steve joked, but Bucky wasn’t laughing. Steve cleared his throat. “Seriously, though. What now?”

“The plan remains the same,” Bucky told him. “We get out the city as fast as we can and head through the mountains to the base. Once we’re there, well. I guess we’ll see. No doubt the military will take over. All we can do is hope that he files I stole from Umbrella were complete and no-one in the military is in on it.” He frowned. “You got any family to get out? Your mom, anyone?”

“No,” Steve replied stiffly. “Mom passed away when I was nineteen. You know I don’t have any other family.”

He looked up, seeing pain cross Bucky’s face in the dim light. “God, Steve. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

Steve shrugged. “How could you? You’d all left by then. I thought about trying to get in touch, let you know, but…” He sighed. “I didn’t even know where to start.”

“You knew I was planning on going to NYU,” Bucky retorted, sounding angry. “You could have called the university.”

“And said what, Bucky? Oh, hey, a guy I went to school with might be studying there, my mom just passed away and I don’t even know if he’d want to come to the funeral but I’m trying to let him know anyway?” Steve couldn’t help the sharpness of his tone, and Bucky recoiled as if he’d been slapped. “Sorry. I just. It was really hard, and pretty much everyone was gone. It was a pretty lonely time.”

“Jesus, Steve. I’m…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Steve said, defeated. “It was a long time ago.”

“I know. I just wish…”

“Yeah.”

Bucky was silent, frowning, and Steve wondered what he was thinking. If he had regrets, if he—like Steve—wondered what could have been had things been different. 

Not that it mattered now, but still. 

“Was it an accident?” Bucky asked.

Steve shook his head. “She got really sick really fast. Comorbid pneumonia and tuberculosis. The doctors did everything they could, but it only took five days and she was gone.”

Bucky opened his mouth to say more, but at that moment there was a loud, continuous crashing noise outside, and Steve strode over to the window. Outside the street was dark but for the headlights from the cars, which were crashing into each other in a huge pile-up. Panic was clearly setting in to the population, and Steve wondered why for a moment. 

Then he saw it. 

A huge, slow wave of the infected were coming up the streets towards them. People were screaming, stumbling from their cars. Some of them were fast enough; some of them were not. 

Bucky moved to stand beside Steve. 

“Shit. I was hoping we’d have more time.”

“Those people,” Steve whispered. “All those people. How has it spread so much already?”

“We don’t know how many were infected to begin with,” Bucky said quietly. “Depending on the number of patient zeroes…”

“Yeah.” 

Below, the infected were picking off those who couldn’t get out their cars quick enough, or who stumbled and fell as they tried to run. 

“We have to help,” Steve told Bucky. 

Bucky shook his head. “Steve, no. We can’t save everyone. But if we can get to the base and create the antivirus, we could save the world.”

“Bucky, I can’t… I can’t just leave people to die!”

“Steve…” Bucky sighed heavily. “We have to. The operative word here is survival. If we stick together and move fast we can do this. We can make it out.”

“At what cost, though?”

Bucky's mouth set into a grim line, and Steve knew the battle had been over in Bucky’s mind before it had even begun. “Sometimes you have to sacrifice the few to save the many.”

Steve narrowed his eyes. “That’s not good enough for me.” He cocked his shotgun, determination rising. “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Bucky replied, shaking his head. Steve knew that Bucky wasn’t giving in, but that was too bad. Steve couldn’t help it. There was no way he could let people die if it was at all possible for him to save them.

Steve turned away from the window, the screams of those below echoing in his ears. His whole city, the city he’d been tasked to protect, was in crisis. He had to do everything in his power to save the city, although he was starting to wonder if it was even possible any more. If it was already too late. 

Together, he and Bucky strode out of the squad room, into the corridor, following the light of Steve’s flashlight on the seventies pattern carpet. Steve had walked that carpet a thousand times, but never really noticed how old-fashioned it was. Maybe when he was made captain he’d ask for funding to redecorate. He snorted derisively at himself, making Bucky look at him curiously, and shook his head. These thoughts were too flippant to voice in such serious circumstances. Bucky would probably think he was crazy if he told him that in the middle of such a crisis he was thinking about what color to paint the station walls. 

_ Get it together, Rogers, _ he told himself sharply as they reached the top of the stairs.  _ Get a fucking grip. _

There was a strange groaning from the bottom of the stairs, along with noises which sounded like loud chewing. 

_ Fuck,  _ Steve thought, and shone his flashlight down. 

At the bottom of the staircase was a group of seven infected, feasting on a body. One of the infected shifted slightly, and Steve caught a glimpse of long, curly blonde hair streaming across the floor, stained with blood. 

Susan. 

Steve figured that from the position of the body, she must have tripped and fallen as she tried to escape. The horror of it all came crashing down on him, and his breath caught in his throat. He felt Bucky’s steadying hand on his arm, and closed his eyes briefly, trying to ground himself. 

He noticed that one of the infected was wearing an RPD uniform. Their face was half eaten, but Steve thought he recognized Officer Craven, the newest Officer in RPD. He’d turned 26 his last birthday, and Steve’s brain kept trying to juxtapose the laughing young face onto the torn flesh as he watched the tableau in horror. 

How the fuck had they even got in? He’d told Susan to keep the door shut, but when he shone his flashlight up, he could see one door wide open. She must have seen the RPD uniform and automatically gone to unlock it. There was no other logical explanation. And by the time she realized that something was horribly wrong…

It must have been too late. 

Steve shifted his weight slightly, and the stair creaked under his foot. 

Slowly, slowly, the infected turned towards the noise, and the light of the flashlight. 

“Shit,” Bucky cursed under his breath, drawing one of his handguns. The horror almost overcame Steve as he looked at his colleague. But he knew what he had to do, even if he didn’t want to do it. Steve aimed his shotgun at Craven’s tattered face, took a deep breath, and fired. 

Craven’s head exploded, brains, blood, and pieces of bone flying backwards across the floor as he collapsed, lifeless. Looking to his right, Steve saw that Bucky was waiting, as the remaining infected began to climb the stairs towards them. 

“Bucky?” 

“It’s okay, don’t worry. I want to see the whites of their eyes,” Bucky muttered. “That way this baby will do maximum damage with only one shot.”

“Fuck that,” Steve retorted, and took aim at another of the infected. 

As they approached, staggering forward, Bucky finally began to fire. Despite his training, Steve felt his hands shake slightly, and he shook himself, trying to calm his pulse. This whole situation was fucked up. He was killing people, even if they weren’t really people any longer, and although he hated it, he knew that it was the right thing to do. If nothing else, he was saving their humanity, rather than cursing them to live as whatever the fuck they were now. Adrenaline was coursing through him, his nerves singing, and his next shot went wide, hitting one of the infected on the shoulder. 

It barely even slowed the creature down. 

_ What the fuck, _ Steve thought hysterically. This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t possible. These…  _ things _ were perversions of nature; mindless killing machines, impervious to harm. 

Or nearly so. 

Steve steadied himself, took aim, and fired. The buckshot hit the zombie in the front of the head, exploding it immediately. 

Four down, three to go. 

The remaining infected were over halfway up the stairs now, shuffling and groaning, reaching towards Steve and Bucky. As Steve blew the head off the first, Bucky managed to neutralize the second. 

One left, its mangled mouth hanging open, its hand shredded and bloody, with chunks missing—eaten or otherwise, Steve didn’t know. 

Didn’t want to know. 

He lifted his shotgun, but Bucky got there first. The creature dropped to the floor, the back of its head just a gaping hole, and Steve swallowed hard. He had a pretty strong stomach—you had to have to be a cop—but this was a lot to deal with. It wasn’t that he was afraid. It was simply the horror of the situation, that innocent people were becoming these things. 

They made their way down the staircase, past the corpses, to the bottom where Susan’s lifeless, half-eaten body lay. Before Steve could move to stop him, Bucky took out his baton and used it to smash in the back of her head. 

Steve stared at him, appalled. 

“Jesus, Bucky. Was that really necessary?” he asked, feeling sick to his stomach at the sight of her blood splattered across Bucky’s jeans. 

“Better that than she comes back as one of those things,” Bucky shot back, pocketing the baton again. 

They hadn’t even left the station yet, and Steve was already about to throw in the towel. Susan had been a friend—warm, bubbly, and sweet, not to mention sharp as a whip. They’d all gone out for her twenty-first birthday two weeks previous, buying her drinks and pretending like it was her first taste of alcohol despite all of them knowing about the fake ID she’d kept in her purse until that morning. 

He hoped her parents never had to see what had become of their daughter. But then, Steve reasoned pragmatically, the way things were looking it was likely they’d share a similar fate. 

“This fucking sucks,” was all he said out loud, wishing to god that he might wake up and realize it had just been a dream. He pinched himself surreptitiously. The sting brought him back to reality; there would be no waking up from this living nightmare. 

“Damn straight,” Bucky replied, bringing Steve out of his reverie. “Come on. There’s no time to waste. We need to move now if we’re gonna get out of here.”

Steve glanced over at his old friend, and they shared a look of understanding before reloading their weapons and heading out into the now perilous city streets.


	5. CHAPTER 4 - ENDURE AND SURVIVE

Outside was pandemonium. 

Bucky stared in horror at the sight of droves of infected creatures, no longer human, staggering through the streets after the panicked living. People were running, attempting to escape down side streets, and Bucky’s chest clenched as he realized that many of those streets were blind alleys and dead ends. There was no hope for so many of them, as the infected followed them, slow but steady, in crowds that were big enough to trap the people in corners. There would be no escape for them, no miracle to rescue them. 

Other groups of the infected were banging on the windows of houses, hard enough to break the glass, then crawling inside. Bucky’s ears were filled with the sound of screaming. 

“Fuck, Bucky… all those people,” Steve said quietly from beside him. 

“I know.”

“Oh god.” Steve sounded as though he might throw up. Bucky looked around, alarmed. “Bucky. The babies. What if babies get infected, what the fuck.”

_ Jesus _ . “Steve…”

“No, Buck. Am I gonna have to kill a baby?” 

Bucky could sense Steve’s rising hysteria, and slapped him hard across the face. “Steve, calm the fuck down. You can’t think about that kind of thing. Besides…” He took a deep breath. “I doubt there would be enough left of a baby once the infected…”

“Oh god.” Steve seemed less on the verge of hysteria, but had gone a kind of greenish white. “Oh god. That’s—that’s worse, somehow.” Bucky understood. These were the people he’d been charged to protect. And now he couldn’t protect them from this—even worse, he was having to kill those very people. 

They scanned the approaching hordes together, and Bucky spotted an infected child of about nine approaching them just before Steve did. Steve grabbed Bucky’s arm, his knees buckling, and Bucky dragged him back into the station building, locking the door behind them. 

“Maybe we should stay here a while,” he said, worried. 

Steve took a few large gulps of air, shaking his head. “No. You’re right, we’ve got to get going. I just…” He trailed off, and Bucky squeezed his shoulder in sympathy. 

“Yeah. I know. I’ve been afraid of this.” He frowned. “You don’t… Steve, do you blame me for being part of this?”

“No! God no, Bucky. You didn’t know.”

“I knew it was gonna be a weapon.”

Steve sighed. “We can get into the morality of the military using chemical weapons later. Right now we’ve gotta somehow get through the night and reach that military base.”

“Yeah.”

“Survival, right?”

Bucky nodded. “Survival.”

There was a loud bang behind them. They both spun around, then jumped backwards. The infected were outside, bloodied hands thudding on the door, leaving crimson streaks on the glass. 

“Shit,” Bucky swore. “How are we gonna get out now?”

“Back door?” Steve asked, eyebrow raised, and Bucky stared at him in disbelief. 

“There’s a  _ back door _ ?”

“Of course. Fire exit,” Steve replied, as if it should have been obvious—which, in retrospect, it probably should have been. 

Bucky followed him to the back of the building, to a wooden door. 

“Is the door attached to the alarm?” Bucky asked, and Steve snorted. 

“No, but does it matter?”

“I guess not.” Bucky shot Steve a grin. “The noise is fucking annoying, though. Plus it might attract more of the infected.”

“Good point.”

Steve pushed the bar on the door, and peered out.

“We’re clear,” he said, and together they stepped out into the dark of the alleyway behind the station, lit only by the bright moon above. “We should probably stick to the back streets if we can,” Steve added. 

“Lead on, McDuff,” Bucky said heavily. 

Steve frowned. “You know that the actual quotation is ‘ _ lay _ on’...”

“Fucking hell, Steve,” Bucky muttered, as he pushed Steve’s shoulder in an attempt to get him walking. “Is now really the time to be pedantic about Shakespeare?”

“Probably not,” Steve replied, looking sheepish. 

As they walked, keeping an eye out for any of the infected in their path, Bucky kept stealing glances at Steve. When they were kids, Steve had always been the smallest in his class—small and skinny. By the time they’d finished high school, he’d taken a growth spurt and filled out a lot, but nothing like he was now. Now he was tall and well built, muscles straining under his jacket and t-shirt stretched across a broad chest. 

He’d grown up more attractive than Bucky could have imagined, and while now was really not the time to be noticing this shit, he couldn’t help it. It had been so long since they’d last seen each other… and even Steve’s attitude was more mature. He’d always been a feisty little scrap, ready to fight against any perceived injustice or slight on a friend at a moment’s notice, and although he still obviously had the same drive to do the right thing, he didn’t seem like he was as likely to rush headfirst into danger without thinking. 

A scream from round the corner caught their attention, and before Bucky could react Steve had already dashed towards the noise, handgun drawn. 

_ Then again, _ Bucky thought to himself, inappropriately amused, but rushed to follow the sudden sound of gunfire. 

A woman was crouched in a corner, large piece of pipe dropped beside her, as Steve took aim and fired at the four infected which were trudging towards him. There was one on the ground already; Steve must have already dealt with it. 

Bucky drew his own gun and fired at one of the infected, straight between the eyes. It went down immediately. Between them, he and Steve made short work of the three remaining, and they helped the woman up, pulling her around to another empty street. To safety. 

“Thank you, oh god, thank you!” she babbled. “I was so afraid!”

“Did they hurt you?” Bucky asked, but the woman shook her head. 

“I just scraped my hand a little on the ground when I fell back.”

“You need to get somewhere safe,” Steve told her. Bucky only just managed to suppress an eye roll. There was no such place in this city. Not any more. “Get on a rooftop if you can.”

Not that it would help for long, Bucky thought, but he didn’t say so. What was the use? The woman was already terrified. Making her see that her death was almost inevitable wouldn’t help. 

“Okay,” the woman said, nodding. “Thank you again.”

They smiled at her, and began to walk again. As soon as they were out of earshot, Bucky turned to Steve, opening his mouth to speak. Before he could, Steve shook his head. 

“Don’t, Bucky. Just… don’t.”

Bucky almost continued, but decided to keep his mouth shut. No good could come from belaboring the point. 

They managed to get another half mile, walking fast, without incident. The back streets were mostly clear of the infected, and they managed to evade the two they came across. There was no point in wasting ammo on infecteds they could get past without coming to harm. 

“We need to take the next left,” Steve said as they approached a dead end. “It’ll take us closer to the main street, but we have to risk it.”

“Okay,” Bucky agreed, readying his weapon. “Ready when you are.”

They turned the corner, and stopped in their tracks. Their path was blocked by at least twenty infected. 

“Steve,” Bucky murmured out the corner of his mouth, trying not to attract their attention.

Unfortunately, it seemed their hearing was sharper than he had thought. One by one, they turned towards him and Steve in a wave. 

“Shit,” Bucky swore, raising his gun. 

Steve took aim beside him, and they began to fire into the crowd of infected. 

Each shot sprayed blood and various fluids across the surrounding walls and the other infected. Chunks of bone and brain flew backwards as those that were felled collapsed, slowing the tide of approaching monstrosities, who stumbled over the bodies. Steve seemed to favor the shotgun over his handguns, although he was swapping between them; Bucky wondered if that was because he wasn’t as confident a shot with one bullet instead of buckshot. He himself had been an expert marksman in the army, comfortable with most weapons. 

He wondered if he should count his lucky stars that he had that expertise, given the circumstances. He was almost certain that he wouldn’t have had much hope of survival if that hadn’t been the case. 

Like most of the residents of Raccoon City. 

He hoped at least some people had got out unharmed. Maybe those on the outskirts had been lucky. One of the infected lunged for them, and Bucky fired, blowing its brains out. 

“Nice shot,” Steve said distractedly. He fired, hitting one of the infected twice in the chest. 

“Steve, the head!” Bucky yelled, and Steve swore, aiming again. But he was out of ammo, and as he reloaded, the creature had almost reached them. Bucky grabbed the baton and smashed the creature in the head, blood spraying. 

“Fuck, thanks,” Steve said, raising his reloaded gun and firing.

“No problem.” Bucky paused as he killed another one. “Just make sure you don’t let any of their bodily fluids in your mouth,” he added as an afterthought. “That’s how the virus spreads—through blood and stuff.”

“Good to know,” Steve snarked, and Bucky grimaced. 

“Don’t let them bite you either. Saliva is another carrier.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Steve retorted, cocking his shotgun and blasting the last one in the face. 

Their path clear, they stepped over the trail of corpses, and continued on their way. 

“Should we make a run for it?” Steve asked when they got to the main street, looking down at the waves of infected wandering the streets, feeding on corpses. 

“Best not to right now,” Bucky replied slowly. “We should try and conserve our energy—we don’t know how long we’re gonna be out here killing these things. Walk quick, avoid those things as much as possible, but there’s no point in running unless we have to.” 

Steve nodded, and together they walked quickly down the main street, killing the infected they couldn’t avoid as they went. They had covered about 100 yards when was a loud crashing, thudding noise down the street to their left, accompanied by a roar—the kind of noise that could spell nothing good. They paused, looking at each other. 

“What the fuck was that noise?” Steve asked. 

“I don’t know,” Bucky replied quietly, “but I honestly don’t want to wait around to find out.”

“Let’s get going, then,” Steve said, and they sped up, walking quickly away from the noise. 

Despite the distance they were covering, the noises sounded like they were coming closer. Bucky looked over his shoulder, as round the corner from behind a building stepped an enormous creature. It was humanoid, if you could call it that—around eight feet tall and nearly as wide, with bulging muscles. It was naked, but had no genitals, like a really fucking ripped Ken doll, and its skin was pasty white, almost bordering on gray in color. If it had started life as a human, it barely resembled one now. Around one eye were what looked like red scales, that wrapped in an s shape around the creature’s head. 

“Seriously, Buck, what the fuck is that thing? Is that a side effect of the virus?” Steve asked, panicked. 

“No fucking clue,” Bucky yelled back, “but I think now might be the time to fucking run.”

They ran. 

Both of them were fast, with good stamina, but it didn’t matter how fast they ran; the creature—whatever it was—was gaining every second, its feet pounding on the road, the loud roaring sound constant now. Steve turned on his heel, firing his shotgun twice at the creature’s head. The buckshot glanced lightly off the creature’s seemingly impervious skin, serving only to make it angry as the roaring sound increased. 

“Buck, shut your eyes!” Steve yelled, taking a flash grenade from his belt. Bucky put his arm over his eyes to shield them, seeing the light flash through his eyelids as the grenade exploded with a loud bang. The creature stepped back, stunned, and Bucky grabbed Steve’s arm before hauling him through a door into the nearest building. 


	6. CHAPTER 5 - HOLD YOUR FIRE; I'M A HUMAN

Steve stumbled through the door into the restaurant, staggering slightly as Bucky let go of him to lock up behind them. 

Holding his finger to his lips, Bucky motioned for Steve to follow him, and the two of them ducked down on their knees behind a table. Keeping as silent as they could, they watched through the windows as the giant creature shook itself as if to clear its vision, then roared loud enough to make the windows shake before thundering down the street. 

After a few moments, when he was sure they were safe from the creature, Steve heaved a deep, relieved sigh. 

“Fuck.”

“Yeah,” Bucky murmured back. “That was really fucking close. Quick thinking with the flash grenade.”

“Thanks.” Neither of them made to move; Steve felt frozen in place, and suddenly became acutely aware of how close Bucky was. The heat from his body was bleeding through to Steve’s arm, and Bucky’s breath was puffing lightly on Steve’s ear, making it sensitive, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. 

_ God, no _ , Steve thought to himself.  _ Don’t do this. Not now, not again. _

“We should move,” Bucky said quietly, breaking the spell, and Steve let out a shuddering breath. 

“Yeah.”

They stood, and had just begun to walk back toward the glass door when they heard a creaking noise from upstairs, as though someone was walking along the floorboards. Steve was immediately on the alert. 

“Do you think someone might be up there?” Bucky whispered. 

“Could be. If so, we need to warn them.”

They exchanged a glance, readying their weapons, and padded silently towards the stairs that led to the second floor dining area. 

It was empty. 

“That’s weird,” Bucky began, but the noise came again, this time louder, from the third floor, and he immediately pressed his lips together. 

Up another flight of stairs they went, this one narrower than the first, leading to the restaurant offices. At the top landing, Steve nodded quickly to Bucky, before opening the door and slipping inside. 

A knife flew past Steve’s head and he jerked back instinctively, before spinning around and aiming his gun at the attacker. 

A woman with short dark hair was sitting on a large chair facing them, an open laptop on the desk behind her. 

“Sorry,” she said casually, shrugging. “I thought you might be one of them.”

Steve holstered his gun, frowning, as Bucky came into the room at his back. “We’re not. But I’m afraid you’ll have to evacuate the city, ma’am. The city is compromised, and I’m afraid that this building isn’t exactly secure.”

“I’m aware.” She switched off the laptop and closed it, pulling out a memory stick, which she pocketed. “But I’m afraid I can’t leave the city.”

“Ma’am…”

She frowned. “I can’t leave the city,” she repeated firmly. “I need to find my boyfriend and I am not leaving without him.”

“You might have to,” Bucky told her, tone heavy. “It’s carnage out there.”

“Do you know for sure if he’s still alive?” Steve asked, a little bluntly, but he hadn’t been kidding when he’d told her the building wasn’t secure. There was too much glass on the first floor; droves of infected could easily break into the building at any time if something attracted them, for example the smell of living humans. 

Did the infected still have a sense of smell? They could obviously feel, hear, and see, but what about smelling?

The woman shook her head. “I don’t know, but I intend to go to his work to see if I can find him.”

“Does he work nearby?” Steve asked. 

“No,” she replied, grimacing. “That’s the problem—he works in a lab on the outskirts of town.”

Bucky stiffened next to Steve. “What’s his name?” he asked sharply. 

“John. John Clemens.” She shot Bucky a curious look. “Why?”

“I work with him in the lab. Worked,” he corrected himself quickly. “I don’t work there now. He always seemed like a good guy. I really hope you find him alive.”

“Thank you.”

“Were you aware of what they were making at that lab?” Steve asked, his cop instincts kicking in. “That they’re responsible for whatever is happening now?”

The woman paused for a moment, and Steve got the feeling she was about to lie, but changed her mind at the last minute. “Yes,” she confessed at length. “But only since this afternoon. He didn’t even know himself until then—he called me straight away to warn me what was happening, but our call got cut off and I haven’t heard from him since. I didn’t get a chance to go out there before…”

She trailed off and Steve nodded sympathetically. 

“I’m Sergeant Steve Rogers, RPD, by the way. This is Dr James Barnes.”

“Bucky,” Bucky added, lifting his hand in greeting. 

“I’m Ada. Ada Wong,” the woman said, giving them a half smile. “Can we team up to try and get to the lab to look for John? You look like you can both handle yourselves.” She smirked at them, eyeing their weapons. 

Bucky shook his head before Steve could respond. “Sorry, but no. That’s not happening. There’s no way we can go back there—we’re heading towards the mountains. The lab is in the opposite direction, more than double the distance away. Even with a clear route, it’ll set us back at least two hours.”

“But John…”

Steve looked pleadingly at Bucky, trying to convey in his look how much he needed to help this woman—to do  _ something _ that made him feel like he’d made a difference in this fucked up reality in which he’d found himself. 

Bucky sighed defeatedly. “Fine. We’ll make a detour to the lab to see if we can find John. But if it looks bad out there, we get the hell out of the city immediately. No ifs, ands, buts. Also, if anything goes pear shaped on the way and we get separated, we meet at the lab as soon as we can get there. Okay?”

Ada nodded. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Now,” Steve said, smiling and holding out one of his handguns to her, “do you know how to handle a weapon?”

Ada raised an eyebrow and opened her jacket to reveal a holster with two Springfield Armory XDM handguns. Steve blinked in disbelief, wondering what the hell a civilian was doing with that kind of firepower. It occurred to him that they didn’t even know if she was a civilian—they knew absolutely nothing about her. But there was no time at that moment for those kind of probing questions. They really had to get going if they were ever going to get the fuck out of the city. 

“Okay, come on then. We need to make a move.”

He glanced out the window onto the street, but the huge creature was nowhere to be seen, although there was a loud crashing noise, like metal scraping against metal, a few blocks down. Frowning, Steve turned towards the others and nodded to Bucky. 

“Yeah, I think we’re clear of that thing for now.”

“Good.”

The trio traipsed down the stairs, and headed back out onto the street. The moon had gone behind a cloud; the night was pitch black, but Steve didn’t want to use his flashlight for fear of attracting undue attention. 

Further down, many of the pile of cars they’d seen previously were in flames. The flickering light cast shadows everywhere, making Steve think there were crowds of infected creatures lurching around out the corner of his eye. When he turned his head, however, there was nothing. Only partially eaten corpses littering the street, unmoving. 

Bucky, walking beside him, put a hand on his arm. “Steady, Steve,” he murmured, quiet enough that Ada, following slightly behind, wouldn’t hear. Steve took a deep, calming breath, centering himself, and nodded. 

The further they walked, the more infected they saw. Not as many as had been in the city center; only a few here and there. Few enough to avoid. 

The night was almost silent—the only sounds were their footsteps on the asphalt and the occasional groan from a nearby infected. But Steve wouldn’t let himself relax, even a little. His time on the force had taught him, if nothing else, that a crisis situation could go south at any second, and there was no way he was going to let himself be caught unaware. 

They were still about four miles from the lab, and Steve wondered what they would do when they got there. The lab was on the outskirts of the town, on the east side. If there was some kind of transport available there, then they might be able to drive around the city rather than through the center, doubling back to get onto the highway through the mountains. That was the best case scenario; worst case, they’d have to come back through the center of the city, braving the infected—and whatever the hell that giant creature had been. If that happened…

Steve didn’t want to think about that. 

Instead, he let his mind wander to Bucky. The circumstances were fucked up, but he was still glad that he’d had the chance to reconnect with his old friend. If he… if he didn’t survive the night—which was entirely possible, even if it wasn’t something he wanted to dwell on—at least he wouldn’t have that regret. 

“Steve?” Bucky said quietly. “Do you hear that?”

Steve stopped in his tracks, listening. A slow thudding noise, getting gradually louder. Then a distant roar. 

“We’d better move fast,” Steve told them others, and the three of them sped up, weaving past the scores of abandoned vehicles. About two hundred yards down the main street, the road and sidewalks were completely blocked by another large pile-up of cars and a huge truck, and Bucky groaned. 

“Up and over?” he asked, glancing at Steve.

Steve nodded. “Up and over.”

They clambered over one of the cars—Bucky, followed by Ada, and Steve bringing up the rear, weapon ready in case of approaching infected. 

The thudding was getting ever closer, and the roaring louder. 

“Should we head towards shelter?” Steve asked Bucky, who shook his head. 

“We’ve got to keep going. We’ve wasted way too much time already.”

“I think…” Ada began, when she was interrupted by a loud crash. They looked behind them to see that the huge creature had barreled through the glass of one of the buildings, and a crowd of about fifty people—survivors—ran out in droves, screaming. The creature was picking them off one by one, tearing their bodies apart and throwing the pieces to the ground. 

“Fuck,” Bucky swore. “Run!” Steve hesitated for a moment, unable to walk away and leave all those people to their deaths. Bucky grabbed his arm. “Steve. Steve, we can't help them, we need to get out of here!”

The creature looked up and spotted them. 

“Okay, let’s run,” Steve agreed, and turned on his heel just as the crowd of remaining survivors reached them. In their panic, they swarmed around the trio, and Steve grabbed hold of Ada’s arm as they were carried along by the crowd, hell bent on trying to escape. “Bucky?” he cried, suddenly realizing that his friend was no longer beside him. “Bucky!”

If Bucky was nearby, Steve couldn’t hear him over the screams of the survivors. 

He and Ada managed to separate themselves from the wave of people, ducking down a side street and hiding behind a building. 

“We have to go back!” Steve told Ada, panicked. “We have to find Bucky! We can’t just leave him, we can’t!”

Ada shook her head. “Steve, we can’t just go back out there. That thing is designed to be a killing machine, no mercy, and if it catches us, we’re dead. Look,” she continued, seeing Steve was about to argue, “Your friend’s got weapons, he’ll be fine. Besides, he knows to meet us at the lab. We keep going, and we’ll catch up with him there, but we have to  _ move _ .”

Steve couldn’t help but wonder exactly how she seemed to know so much about the creature, but he didn’t ask. Instead, he nodded reluctantly, and followed her down the back streets, towards the lab. Bucky would be fine. He could take care of himself. 

If Steve was being honest with himself, Bucky had to survive. There was no way that Steve could deal with losing him again.


	7. CHAPTER 6 - LOST AND FOUND

Bucky managed to fight his way to the front of the crowd of screaming, panicked civilians, and ran ahead of them at full speed down the sidewalk, killing the infected in his way as he went. He didn’t like that he had to leave so many people to their inevitable deaths at the hands of that creature, but he also knew he had to focus on his mission. His antivirus model could potentially be the only thing standing between the further spread of the virus and the safety of those in nearby towns and cities. As he had said to Steve earlier: in these circumstances, if they were to save the masses, they would have to sacrifice the few. 

Speaking of Steve… He darted round a corner and peered round, looking back, but Steve and Ada were nowhere to be seen among the crowd. 

Shit. 

He considered doubling back to look for them, but the giant creature was still picking off the survivors, and he knew he couldn’t risk it. There was no point in calling for them either; there was no way that they’d be able to hear him above the screams. All he could do was hope that they too had somehow managed to escape, and were well on their way to the lab already. 

Taking a deep, steadying breath, he carried on down the side street, praying for the first time in years. Praying that Steve was safe, praying that they’d both somehow make it to the lab, praying that he’d get to the base in time to create the antivirus and save as many people as he could. 

There was a considerably higher number of infected the further on he walked. Bucky wondered if this was because he was getting closer to the lab. Perhaps the lab had been ground zero for the spread of the virus—Bucky had assumed that ground zero had been the center of the city, but perhaps he was wrong. 

If it was the lab, maybe the initial release had been an accident and not, as he’d told Steve, a deliberate test. But if that was the case, who had cut the power and the communications? Had that been a contingency plan if the virus ever did find its way into the city’s population?

There was so much uncertainty, and Bucky hated uncertainty. He liked facts, tangible truths; things he could rationalize. He liked to be able to make plans, and the fewer facts he knew about a situation, the harder that became. 

There was one thing he knew, however. Ada Wong was definitely not telling the whole truth about who she was and why she was there. Not only had there been something off about her answers, but she had powerful weapons usually used by law enforcement, not civilians. Did she always carry them? Why? And if not, how had she just happened to have them when the viral outbreak had happened?

In a way he was glad that she was with Steve. If she could handle herself as well as her weapons implied, then at least that increased Steve’s chances of survival now they had been separated. And he did worry about Steve living through this. Sure, he was a highly trained police officer, but he had no real combat experience in the field. All Bucky could do was hope he would stay safe. 

The sound of barking, followed by a scream, brought him out of his reverie, and he turned towards the sound sharply, readying his weapon and heading towards the noise. 

Down an alleyway, right at the end by the wall, was a young girl, backed into a corner. Surrounding her were three large dogs, fur bloodied and patchy with open wounds, all barking and ready to attack. 

Fuck. It looked like the virus was spreading to other animals now. That really didn’t bode well at all. 

Bucky wasted no time, shooting each of the dogs in the head before they could turn on him. The little girl collapsed to her knees, sobbing, her pretty green dress spattered with blood. Bucky couldn’t see any visible wounds on her, and began to walk towards her. The little girl scrabbled backwards further into the corner, her eyes wide, whimpering. 

“Hey,” Bucky said softly, crouching down and putting his gun away before holding up his hands in a reassuring gesture. “My name’s Bucky. What’s yours?”

The little girl sniffed. “Sherry.”

“Hi Sherry. How old are you?”

“Seven,” Sherry replied warily. 

“And what are you doing here all by yourself?”

Her eyes filled with more tears. “My mommy and I were running away from a big monster and a bad lady who was trying to take me from my mommy, but there were too many people around and when I came out from my hiding place I couldn’t find her again. I’ve been hiding since then, because I’m really scared.”

Bucky smiled encouragingly. “Yeah, the big monster was chasing me too. It’s so scary, right?” Sherry nodded. “And there was a bad lady too? Maybe your mommy chased her off and is still looking for you.” He paused. “So have you got a second name? Or are you Sherry like Madonna, or Cher?”

Sherry giggled. “No! My full name is Sherry Birkin.”

Bucky froze. “Sherry Birkin? Like William Birkin?” he asked sharply. 

Sherry nodded. “Yes, that’s my daddy.”

Fuck. That gave Bucky a moment’s hesitation. 

William Birkin had been the head of scientific research at the lab, in charge of the whole project. Which meant that this little girl’s daddy had been in on the whole thing—the virus, the release, all of it. He had to have been. There was no way that Birkin couldn’t have known what the labs were creating, for whom, and why. 

“Daddy has been working to cure me,” Sherry said, interrupting Bucky’s thoughts. “My brain doesn’t work right, and it's wasting away. I almost died. Daddy’s a scientist, and he made a medicine for me—well, two medicines, really. I have to take two different ones so I don’t get sicker.”

“Sicker?” Bucky asked, confused. “Your medicine could make you sicker?”

Sherry nodded. “If I don’t take my second medicine then the first one will make me a lot sicker, like those people out there,” she said, pointing down the street. 

Bucky’s eyes went wide. “Like… like those people out there?”

“Yeah.” Sherry looked down at her feet, scuffing her filthy, blood stained sneakers on the ground. “Daddy said he was getting close to finding a way to make me totally better. But now I don’t know what’s happened to him or my mommy and I’m scared!”

She looked as if she was going to cry again, and Bucky made a snap decision. He couldn’t just leave a little girl by herself, to the mercy of whatever the hell was out there. Besides, he was already heading toward the lab—they might find her father there. If they did, he’d have some explaining to do, Bucky thought grimly. 

Because from what Sherry had told him, it sounded as though Birkin had formulated this virus for two reasons. The first was for his employers, to their specifications, which was pretty evil. But the second was to find a cure for his young daughter’s degenerative illness. Which made Bucky empathize with him a little, knowing that his daughter could have died without a cure. However, the fact that he knew that it would be dangerous without an antidote—or at least a readily available antidote; there was no other explanation for Sherry’s second ‘medicine’—and still kept creating it…

Yeah. Birkin definitely needed to explain himself. 

He said none of this out loud, however. Instead, Bucky held out his hand. “Well, if you want to come with me, I’ll look after you, keep you safe, and try to help you to find your daddy. How does that sound?”

Sherry nodded, stepping forward and taking hold of his hand. “Okay.”

A thought struck him. “You, uh, do you have any of your medicine with you?”

Sherry took a case from her unicorn backpack and handed it to him. Inside were six vials. Three of them contained what he recognized as suspensions of the virus; the other three, he presumed, must be the second, the one which he suspected functioned as a kind of antidote against the terrifying effects. He tried to keep his face as blank as possible so as not to alarm her, and closed the case, handing it back to her. 

“You’d better hold on to that,” he told her. “Keep it safe.”

There was no sight or sound of the huge creature, and Bucky heaved a relieved sigh. To be on the safe side, he chose to take the back streets to avoid encounters with too many infected. Bucky found himself overcome with worry for the child he now had in his care. Not so much that she would come to harm—Bucky was more confident in his combat abilities than that—but about the effect of her witnessing the inevitable amount of violence and horror as he killed the creatures which they would no doubt come across on their way. 

“Hey, Sherry?”

Sherry looked up at him, her childish eyes wide. “Yes, Bucky?”

“If I tell you that you have to close your eyes, then you have to close them straight away, okay?”

Sherry’s expression turned to confusion. “But why?”

Bucky sighed. “Because if I’m gonna keep you safe, I have to shoot those scary people out there, and I don’t want you to have to see that.”

“I can cope with scary stuff,” Sherry said defiantly. “I’m not a baby.”

Bucky hid a smile. “I know, and I’m sure you’re a very brave girl. But it’s really horrible and even I don’t really like to see it. I’m probably going to have nightmares after this, and I don’t want that for you.”

“Hmm.” Sherry frowned, but nodded. “Okay then.”

“Also you have to stay close to me,” he warned her. “You can’t run off. Not if I’m gonna keep you safe. Even when I let go of your hand.”

Sherry gave him a disgusted look. “I’m seven. I’m not stupid.”

Bucky had to swallow his laughter. He didn’t want to offend the child by laughing at her when she was obviously quite serious. “I know.” He paused briefly. “You know, I used to work with your daddy.”

That made her smile. “You did?”

“Mhm. That’s how I knew his name. So we’re going to his work now because I have to meet my friend there. I’m hoping that your daddy is safe there too.”

“Me too!” She gave a little skip. “Do you… do you think my mommy might be there as well?”

That made Bucky pause. He knew her mommy was probably dead, given how they had been separated, but he couldn’t say that to a seven year old. He couldn’t kill her hope, not when he didn’t know for sure. “Maybe!” he said carefully, trying to keep his tone light and hopeful. 

As they turned a corner, the moon came out from behind a cloud, and Sherry let out a high-pitched scream. Bucky looked up and immediately pushed Sherry behind him. Crawling fast along the wall towards them on the other side of the street was something unlike anything Bucky had ever seen before. It looked like a skinned human; the creature’s muscles were all that was showing on the outside of its body. Unlike a human, however, this particular creature was running fast on all fours, somehow managing to cling to the brick wall like a spider. And although this in itself was terrifying, that wasn’t the part that worried Bucky. What worried Bucky were the huge teeth. And the sharp claws. 

Oh  _ shit _ . 


	8. CHAPTER 7 - SUSPICIOUS MINDS

Ada was way too good at killing those things to be a civilian. 

They had made good progress since losing Bucky, cutting through the waves of infected without incident. Steve was pretty sure he’d have just about coped if he’d been by himself; with Ada by his side, her aim almost perfect and her demeanor consistently calm, it felt as though they might actually make it safely to the lab. 

As they passed a small-ish general store, Ada tugged his arm. 

“In here,” she said, then went in without waiting for him to reply. Steve shot a half eaten infected that was crawling along the sidewalk towards him, not enough of its legs left to even stand, and followed her inside. 

“Ada, what are we doing in here?” Steve asked, keeping his voice low in case of nearby infected. 

“Getting supplies,” Ada replied distractedly, leading Steve through the totally deserted aisles, completely devoid of life, human or otherwise. 

Steve frowned. “Supplies?”

Ada turned, giving him an impatient look. “This has already been a long night, and it’s just gonna get longer. While we have the chance, we drink some water, we eat some high calorie food, we make a trip to the bathroom, and then we keep going.”

“Do we really have the time for this?” Steve asked. 

“Look, if you wanna faint from hunger or dehydration then be my guest. It’s not a warm night, but we’re passing a lot of fires, so although you don’t realize it you have been inhaling smoke, which dries you out. Also, do you really want to lose your concentration in the middle of a fight because you need to piss? No.”

Steve couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Yeah, okay. Logic accepted.”

As they walked through the store, Steve spotted a sports equipment section, and wandered over. He ignored Ada muttering something about boys and their obsession with sporting goods, picked up a large steel baseball bat, and hit it gently against his palm, then swung it around. 

“What are you thinking?” Ada asked, coming up behind him. 

Steve turned, grinning. “I’m thinking this will crack some skulls, save ammo.”

“Good call. Lucky their heads are so soft.”

She wandered off, leaving Steve frozen to the spot. 

How the  _ hell _ did Ada know about their cranial weakness? Neither Steve nor Bucky had said anything about it to her. Now that he thought about it, she’d been consistently aiming for their heads, like she’d always known. But how?

He considered calling her out on her bullshit, but after a moment’s thought decided against it. Nothing good could come of it, and he might find himself fighting her for his life as well as the infected. Plus there was the fact that even though they were both obviously well trained with weapons, they needed each other if they were going to reach the lab alive. 

Especially if that huge creature found them again. 

Steve took the bat with him to the public bathroom, just in case Ada took it into her mind to steal it from him. There was a half-eaten corpse slumped in the corner of the bathroom; as he entered, it slid fully down the wall onto the floor in a puddle of blood. 

Steve shuddered. He emptied his bladder quickly, but as he was washing his hands the corpse groaned, standing up and lurching toward Steve. Steve whirled around, swinging the bat, and caught the creature full force in the side of the head. Blood flew everywhere as the creature’s entire head collapsed in on itself. 

Grabbing some paper towels, Steve wiped the spatter from his face, before throwing them in the trash and heading back out onto the shop floor. Ada was waiting for him outside the door of the bathroom, and raised an eyebrow. 

“Unfortunately I wasn’t the only one in there,” Steve explained. 

"Ah." Ada's lips twitched.

"Glad you find it so amusing," Steve snarked, annoyed.

"You're still here, aren't you? So it's fine." Ada punched him on the arm, which nearly went numb. "Come on. We're gonna have to move on soon before that thing finds us."

They walked through the aisles until they found some high-sugar snacks and bottles of water. "Just sip, don't guzzle," Ada told Steve. He nodded, and took some small sips of water. He hadn't realized how dry his mouth had been until that moment, and it was all he could do not to down it quickly. It was the same with the snacks. He suddenly remembered that he hadn't had dinner—had been waiting on pizza when Bucky had shown up. His stomach growled, as though grateful for the sustenance.

Ada put her bottle into the inner pocket of her coat; Steve stuck his in his backpack, and together they readied their weapons before heading out onto the street.

"It's not too much further," Steve told Ada. "Only about two and a half miles."

"I know," she replied. Steve raised his eyebrow at her. "I've visited John there," she added quickly—too quickly. Again, Steve didn't think it was necessarily a lie, but nor did he think it was the whole truth. He just didn't trust her, but as long as he stayed on his guard he knew he should be okay.

"Of course," was all he said, keeping his tone neutral. It wouldn't do for her to suspect that Steve knew that she wasn't on the level.

Ada's expression turned relieved for a split second, before going back to nonchalance. Her reaction served only to increase Steve's suspicions. He definitely had to confront her, but he would wait until they had reached the lab and met back up with Bucky.

_ If Bucky makes it. _

Steve hated himself for having that thought. But of course, there were no guarantees, and too many unknown variables. Not to mention the giant creature, which could easily have caught up with him...

But that line of thinking wasn't helping at all.

As they walked, Steve spotted an old, battered Harley-Davidson VRSC 2006 down the street. It wasn't  _ that _ old, but clearly hadn't been taken care of by the owner.

The keys were still in the ignition, however, and Steve stopped in his tracks.

“What?” Ada snapped at him, then followed his line of sight. “Can you ride one of those things?”

“You’d better believe it,” Steve said, grinning. “And it’ll be a hell of a lot easier riding that through the streets right now than a car.”

Ada smirked back. “Then let’s do it.”

As they hurried towards the motorcycle, they heard a familiar roaring nearby. Neither of them commented on it; they exchanged a worried look and sped up. The roaring was getting closer, and when Steve looked over his shoulder, he saw the giant creature coming towards them, feet pounding on the ground. 

“Run!” he yelled. 

They had almost reached the bike when there was a screeching, metallic noise. Steve looked back and gasped as he saw the creature watching them as it draw back a car in the air. 

“Get down!” As he shouted, he leapt at Ada, rolling them both on the ground, just as the car sailed over their heads, crashing down on a van and immediately bursting into flames. “Shit.”

They stood, as the creature walked towards them. It wasn’t hurrying, seeming to know that it didn’t matter if they ran, it would still catch them. 

Well. Fuck that. 

Steve took a flame grenade from his belt and threw it at the creature. It landed at the creature’s feet, and immediately engulfed it in a ball of flame. 

The creature screeched, flailing its limbs around in an attempt to put itself out. Steve could see large clumps of burning flesh falling off its body, almost as though it was melting wax dripping off of a candle. The stench was unbearable, even from the distance they were at, and Steve gagged. 

“Come on,” Ada said, tugging at his jacket, her voice muffled by the sleeve she held over her mouth and nose. “Now would be a good time to get out of here.”

Steve nodded and they climbed onto the motorcycle. Ada sat behind Steve, clinging tightly around his waist. Steve wondered briefly how it would have been if it was Bucky behind him; if they hadn’t met Ada; if they hadn’t been separated. They wouldn’t even have been going to the lab—they’d have been on their way to the base, and probably been out of town by now. But it was no use fantasizing about what could have been. He turned the keys and the motorcycle roared to life. 

The roads were so blocked with vehicles, corpses, and the infected that it was incredibly hard to actually get through, even on a motorcycle. Steve had to drive carefully, never managing to get above twenty miles per hour, and even that rarely. Still, it was definitely faster than walking. 

As they rode on, Steve heard loud barking and glanced over his shoulder. Behind them was a pack of dogs, chasing the motorcycle. Since they were going so slowly, the dogs were managing to keep up with the bike, and Steve revved the engine as one of the dogs snapped at their feet. 

“Keep the bike steady,” Ada yelled, and Steve nodded. He heard five consecutive shots ring out, and the barking stopped. 

The crowds of infected were thinning again, and Steve sped up a little, trying to put some distance between them and the creature, just in case it wasn’t dead. He took his eye off of the road for a split second…

...And the bike hit a huge pothole on the road. 

“Shit!” Steve managed to right the bike so they didn’t go over, but instead drove it into the back of a Range Rover. The force of the impact caused him to fly over the front of the bike, headfirst into the back of the vehicle. 

Fuck, it hurt. 

He pressed his left hand to his head, and brought it away bloodied. That wasn’t a good sign. 

“Well, that was a good idea while it lasted,” Ada commented shrewishly. 

There was a low groaning from behind them. Steve narrowed his eyes at Ada and spun around, swinging his baseball bat and smashing in the head of the approaching infected. 

“I got us away from that thing, didn’t I?”

Ada frowned, not giving an inch. “For now. Come on, we need to keep moving, just in case. We can’t be more than half a mile from the lab now.”

They continued walking east, toward the lab. There were more infected here again, more and more around every corner. It didn’t matter whether they went down side streets to try and avoid them or if they went down the main street instead. The infected were everywhere, in groups that blocked the streets and made it impossible to run past. They were wandering aimlessly; some toward the center of town, others out toward the outskirts. 

They were using too much ammo, Steve thought to himself worriedly. What if they were to run out before they reached the lab? What then?

He reloaded his shotgun and fired, managing to blow the heads of three of the infected at once. 

“Nice,” Ada commented from beside him, but Steve couldn’t see anything nice about it at all. His vision was starting to go a little fuzzy, and he shook his head to try and clear it. “You okay?” Ada asked. 

“Sure.” Steve shot another infected, swapping to his handgun for the next few as they staggered towards the pair. “Just fine.”

“Good.” Ada let out a frustrated breath. “Fuck, we’re gonna have to run. They’re not gonna stop coming. I think we must be close to ground zero for the infection, there are so many of them here.”

“Okay,” Steve said, nodding and regretting the movement immediately. “Let’s go.”

There was a small path between the crowds of infected, and Steve and Ada made a dash for it, charging through and somehow managing to come out the other side with only some scrapes on their clothing. 

“That was pretty close,” Ada commented, laughing, as they rounded a corner onto a street that was miraculously clear of infected. 

“Yeah, close.” Steve’s vision was graying out, and he swayed in place. “I think…”

The sidewalk came up to meet him, and all he knew was darkness. 


	9. CHAPTER 8 - GRAVE CONSEQUENCES

“Close your eyes, Sherry!” Bucky yelled, firing at the creature with his gun. The shot went wide—the creature was too far away, and was moving so fast and so erratically that the shot missed the creature’s head and went deep into the muscle of its shoulder. 

The creature screeched in pain, pausing only for a second before continuing to move towards them at high speed. It was so fast, so much faster than the other infected, and it sped down the long street toward them. As it ran, it opened its mouth, and a huge, long tongue flew out, moving as though searching for something. 

Bucky couldn’t see the creature’s eyes from such a distance, although he wondered if it even had any. From what he could make out, in place of its eyes seemed to be the bottom of the creature’s bare, uncovered brain. 

As it approached, it leapt off of the wall to the ground and then paused, crouching briefly on the sidewalk before rushing across the road toward them. Bucky grabbed his rifle, taking aim and firing. The bullet grazed the creature’s head this time, and it screamed again, speeding up. Blood was dripping from its head as it ran, but that wasn’t slowing it down. If anything, it was spurring it on. 

“Shit!” he swore, and behind him he heard Sherry start to cry. 

“Bucky, are we going to die?”

“Not if I can help it,” he replied, determined. 

Bucky took a deep breath.  _ Come on, Barnes _ , he told himself sharply.  _ Make it fucking count.  _ He took aim, both eyes open, breathing out slowly as he gently squeezed the trigger. 

The creature’s head exploded in a shower of blood, bone, and gray matter. 

Heaving a sigh of relief, he looked around. He couldn’t see any more, and hoped that was the only one of those that existed—or, at the very least, the only one that they would come across, whatever the hell it had been. Though, knowing his luck…

He laid a hand on Sherry’s arm as he shouldered his rifle again. “It’s okay, kid. You can open your eyes now. That thing won’t bother us anymore, and we’ve gotta keep going.”

Sherry opened her eyes and nodded, sniffling and wiping her eyes before taking his hand again. They began to walk quickly down the street, past the headless corpse of the creature. If there had been another way to go he would have taken her that way, so that she didn’t have to see such horror, but it was inevitable that she would see some of it. She couldn’t have her eyes closed all the time, unfortunately. 

Bucky was pretty certain the little girl would be scarred for life. Then he remembered what she had said—that she almost died before she started taking the virus and the antivirus—and his heart clenched. The chances of her getting any more after the supply she had ran out were slim at best, and totally non existent at worst. Umbrella certainly wouldn’t supply her with any; if anything, they would see her as a liability and have her killed. They wouldn’t even wait for her to die a natural death; they’d kill her and take any samples that were left. 

He looked down at her. She was so small, but her expression—although fearful—also had an element of determination about it. She was a fighter, that was for sure. On impulse, he squeezed her hand, and she looked up at him curiously. 

“What’s wrong, Bucky?”

Her blonde curls were falling out of the hair tie which had been holding them back. Bucky frowned. 

“Hold on a second.” He turned her around, so that her back was to him, and deftly fixed her hair. “There. That’s better. You don’t want it falling all over your face, do you?”

She giggled. “No, I guess not.” She cocked her head to one side. “You should tie yours back too.”

“I probably should,” he agreed solemnly, “but I don’t have a hair tie.”

Sherry scoffed and took off her backpack, reaching inside and emerging with a purple, glittery hair tie. “Here.”

He took it from her and tied his hair into a ponytail. Small wisps came loose and fell around his cheeks, but the rest stayed in place. 

“There, that’s better,” she echoed, smiling, and Bucky smiled back. He took her hand again, squeezing it once more for luck, and they walked on. 

They were still about three miles from the lab now, not making great time, and it had Bucky worried. But although it would have been quicker to take the main streets, it would also have probably meant more infected to deal with—not to mention that huge creature. 

They turned down another long, winding side street, and Bucky froze as, in the distance, he spotted two more of those skinless creatures, sitting about five feet apart on the street. They looked calm, barely moving, almost as though they were sleeping. 

Bucky didn’t want to assume. If they spotted him and Sherry…

One of the infected was shuffling nearby to them, and Bucky watched, fascinated, as the creatures sat up, heads cocked as though listening carefully. As the infected got closer, groaning, the two creatures went into a frenzy, running toward the infected with teeth bared and their large tongues whipping out. 

As they neared it, one of them caught the infected with its tongue, and pulled it towards its wide open maw. 

Even from so far away, Bucky could hear the crunch of teeth on bone. 

Sherry made a quiet, whimpering sound, and the creatures paused, cocking their heads again. Bucky let go of her hand and placed a warning hand on her shoulder, holding his finger to his lips. She nodded, eyes wide, keeping silent. 

Slowly, the creatures relaxed, settling back down and sitting motionless on the street. 

Bucky began to wonder just exactly how much the creatures could see as well as hear. Their hearing was obviously extremely sharp, but despite  _ hearing _ Sherry they blatantly hadn’t spotted her or Bucky, even though they were in plain sight of the creatures. 

He bent down and picked up a small loose piece of concrete, throwing it toward the creatures. It landed about a foot away from one of them, and it whipped its head around, sniffing. Bucky and Sherry stayed frozen to the spot as the creature crawled around the road, looking for the source. Not finding anything, it relaxed back down, calmly sitting on its haunches. 

Bucky held his finger up to his lips again, and Sherry nodded. They began to tiptoe away down another side street, keeping an eye on the creatures, who remained where they were, unmoving. 

Bucky hoped and prayed that they wouldn’t meet any infected until they were out of range of the hearing of the creatures. He wasn’t sure what would happen if they both came after him and Sherry at the same time. One had been hard enough to deal with—they moved so fast two at once would be a nightmare. 

Well, more of a nightmare than this entire night had already been. 

Those creatures, though… They clearly  _ didn’t _ have eyes, or at least any ability to see. That was something that Bucky would have to remember, in case they encountered any more of them. 

But what the fuck.  _ How _ the fuck. The virus that Bucky had helped develop shouldn’t have had those effects on any creature. It was as though the muscles of… whatever animal it had been to begin with had expanded so far that it had burst the animal’s skin right off. The virus did increase muscle mass, that was true; but not to that extent. 

Unless…

Unless the virus had mutated. That was a terrifying thought—viruses did mutate, but not usually that quickly. Bucky’s lab had only completed their part of the virus five days ago, so it couldn’t have been formulated before that. 

Maybe the scientists at Umbrella had been experimenting with gene mutation too? But that was an even more terrifying possibility. Whatever the creatures had been originally, they must have been locked in a lab while they had been experimented on with gene therapy for months—if not years. And if they were, as Bucky strongly suspected, originally human…

Well. That was another horrifyingly illegal practice to add to the list for his former employers. 

He doubted very much that they would have found volunteers for such experiments, so they must have sourced their victims elsewhere. Maybe they were responsible for those who went missing in Raccoon City. Maybe they kidnapped the homeless, who they knew wouldn’t be missed. 

Maybe both. 

And what about the giant creature who had attacked them before? Was that the result of a different kind of genetic mutation? How long had Umbrella been running its experiments? It would take years to cause that kind of change in a human—the growth, the lack of genitals…

No. They couldn’t have bred that thing. Wouldn’t have. Would they? That again went somewhere beyond unethical, into the realms of truly evil. 

And what if the virus Bucky had helped create wasn’t the first? What if they’d made others before? 

What if there were even more horrors lurking in that lab?

He shuddered, and felt Sherry squeeze his hand. “It’s okay, Bucky. We’ll be okay,” she whispered. 

“Yeah, I know,” he lied, managing a small smile. “Just a bit cold.”

“Me too,” she murmured back. “But it’s okay. We’ll warm up as we walk.”

The street they were on led to a dead end, so Bucky turned right onto a narrow side street, then left, and pulled up short. There, about a hundred yards in front of them, was a large group of infected, stumbling around and groaning loudly. Sherry gasped loudly, and the infected looked up. 

Bucky grasped her hand tightly and dragged her down another alleyway, onto the main street…

...And skidded to a halt. 

It was carnage. 

A few survivors were running, trying to escape, and being chased down by infected dogs who pounced and began to eat them. The infected humans, smelling blood, were joining in to help. The street was full of them, and the vehicles piled up in the middle of the road were burning. The smoke filled Bucky’s lungs, and he swallowed a cough, trying not to attract attention. 

He began to walk backwards as slowly as he could, taking Sherry along with him, when there was a moan from behind them. He spun on his heel, to see half a dozen infected staggering towards them. 

He lifted his gun, shooting three of them between the eyes in quick succession. 

Behind him, from the main street, dogs began to bark. 

There was no way out. More infected were coming down the alleyway toward them, and it was only a matter of time before they would be attacked from behind as well. 

Out the corner of his eye, Bucky spotted a ladder. A fire escape, on the side of the building. 

Adrenaline pumping through him, he dragged Sherry to the ladder, picking her up and setting her on a rung above. 

“Climb!” he yelled, and she did, sneakers almost slipping on the metal in her rush to reach the landing. Bucky flew up the rungs after her, reaching the top just as an infected dog jumped at them from below. Bucky pulled the ladder up behind them—he didn’t think that the infected would be able to climb, but he wasn’t intending to take any chances—and lay back on the hard, cold metal. 

“Are you okay?” Sherry asked in a small voice, and Bucky opened his arms to her. She immediately wrapped him in a hug, and he hugged back, petting her hair soothingly. 

“I’m okay,” he said softly. “We’re okay.”

But the infected were clamoring below, and although they were safe where they were for now, they couldn’t stay put, and Bucky couldn’t see a way out.


	10. CHAPTER 9 - SOMETHING TO FIGHT FOR

Steve shifted slightly, a low throbbing making his head ache, worse than the hangovers he got in police academy, and those had been really bad. He’d been having the strangest dream, about a virus, and…

“Oh good. You’re awake.”

Blinking his eyes open, he looked around. He was lying on the floor behind a bar, colorful bottles of liquor lining the shelves above him. There was something pillowing his head, and he took a moment to be grateful for it before focusing on the owner of the voice. 

“Hi…” he said to the young woman, who sighed. 

“Do you know who I am?”

Fuck. It hadn't all been a dream at all. It had been real. “Yeah. You’re Ada.”

Ada heaved a relieved sigh. “Thank god.”

“What happened?” Steve asked. 

“You have a concussion,” she told him, smirking. “I had to drag your heavy ass in here and barricade the door—which, by the way, wasn't easy. You have to weigh at least one-seventy, which I know is probably all muscle, but still. Heavy. Luckily we weren’t spotted coming in here by any of those things out there on the street, so we’ve been able to rest for a while. Which is lucky, because you've been out for about three full minutes.”

Steve moved to get up, but his head started spinning and he lay back down again, closing his eyes until the floor slowed down. Right now it was going at a rate that was making him feel seriously nauseated, even though he didn't normally get motion sickness. Well, there was that one time on a rollercoaster when he was a kid... 

“You must have hit your head pretty hard on that car when you crashed the bike,” Ada said, interrupting his thoughts as she laid a hand on his shoulder. “I've had some experience with people getting head trauma before, so I know you being out for a few minutes means that you need plenty of rest, so we’re gonna chill out here for a while.”

Steve shook his head slowly. Regretting the movement immediately, he groaned. “We can’t afford to stop for too long. We’ve gotta get to the lab as soon as we can. Gotta meet Bucky there, not to mention the fact that we want to try to get there before the infected reach the lab. Unless the lab itself was ground zero, in which case god help us.”

Ada sighed, giving him a stern look. “Umbrella can wait. You need to rest.”

Steve's head came up sharply and he stared at her. “Umbrella? You mean the military facility?”

“Oh, is that what your friend told you?” Ada asked, eyebrow raised in amusement. 

Steve shook his head. “That’s what they told him.”

“But you knew it was Umbrella.”

Steve toyed with the idea of telling her what Bucky had told him, in detail, but decided against it. He was still convinced that she couldn’t be trusted with the full story. Instead, he chose to tell her pieces--the relevant parts--enough so that she wouldn't ask more questions. “Maybe. Yeah. Bucky told me he’d found out he’d been lied to. How do you know?”

“John told me when he called me about what was going on,” Ada told him. Steve knew instinctively that she was lying, but chose not to call her on it. Not yet. Not until they reached the lab. Then all bets were off and he could get the full story out of her. 

“Do you think he’s still alive?” Steve asked instead. 

Ada shrugged. “I hope so,” she said, although she didn’t seem particularly bothered either way. Not in the way that Steve would have expected someone to feel when their partner was potentially in peril. But in that case, why the hell was she so concerned about getting to the lab?

Steve was starting to regret convincing Bucky to go back to the lab now, not when he couldn't put his finger on Ada's motives. Not when she was turning out to be considerably more suspicious than he'd initially thought. But the deed was done; it was the rendezvous point since they'd lost Bucky, and if Steve wanted to see him again he’d have to go to the lab to wait for him. All he could do was hope that Bucky made it. If there had been some way to get in contact with Bucky it wouldn’t be an issue, but with all communications down…

He was just going to have to keep a really close eye on Ada when they reached the lab. Make sure she really was on the level. And if she wasn't? Well, he figured he and Bucky would be able to handle her between them.

He sat up as slowly as he could. His head wasn’t spinning quite as much as it had been, which Steve was taking as a win. 

“I think I’m okay to get going,” he said. 

Ada laughed. “Steve, you can barely even sit up. Stay where you are. We’re safe here—for now, anyway.”

Steve nodded, slowly and gratefully, and lay back down with his hands under his head.

“So you and Bucky are together?” Ada said suddenly, much to Steve's surprise. 

He wondered where the hell she'd got such an outrageous idea—she'd barely even seen them interact together, and people didn't usually assume two men were together in that way in this kind of circumstance. Steve refused to think about the possibility that he had been obvious about how he felt about Bucky, even after all these years. “No,” he replied, unable to keep the hint of irritation from his tone. “Why would you think that?”

Ada shrugged her shoulders elegantly. “Just a vibe I got from you two,” she said, casually, as if she hadn't just read one of Steve's deepest secrets.

“We’re not,” Steve said shortly. “I haven’t seen him for around fifteen years.”

Ada stared at Steve in confusion. "Really? But then why did he come to you of all people when he needed help? Did he not have other friends in the city?"

"Because," Steve replied with a sigh, "I'm RPD. Besides, he needed someone that he knew he could trust with something like this."

"Uh huh. And you haven't seen each other for fifteen years, but he still knew that he could trust you with something as serious and far reaching as this?" Ada's expression had turned to one of disbelief, and Steve frowned. 

"Look, we were really close when we were kids. He didn't know who else he could trust given that Umbrella were paying off people in power, but he knew my personality when I was young, and yeah, okay, he took a chance. But he knew me well enough that he figured I wouldn't be in on something like this. I'm not one of those people who can be bought off."

"Everyone has their price," Ada said, with an inelegant, disbelieving snort.

"Maybe," Steve replied, "but mine would be way too high for anyone. I place a much higher value on human life than I do on money, so my price wouldn’t be to do with my bank account. I could be blackmailed, but not bought." 

Ada was silent for a few moments, clearly dubious but not wanting to say so. After a long pause, she sighed. "Why has it been so many years since you've seen each other if you were such good friends, then?"

Steve shrugged. "That's kind of a really long story."

"We've got time." Ada's look wasn't one of open curiosity. Rather, it was empathetic, as though she knew that he needed to open up to someone about the whole long, painful story. 

She was a really good actress. Steve had to give her that. Either that, or she was looking for a distraction from the horror of what was happening outside as much as he was. 

He sighed. It wasn't exactly something she could use against him, so there was no harm in letting her know the full story. He took a deep breath and began. "It was back when we were teenagers. We'd known each other since I was in kindergarten and he was in the first grade; Bucky had stood up for me when I was getting bullied by bigger kids, and we'd been inseparable ever since. Then in senior year... Bucky was eighteen already, but I was over a year younger—they'd put me up a class because I was one of the smart kids. I’d outgrown my own class's work and needed a new challenge, so they started giving me work that was a year too old for me. Eventually they just let me move into Bucky's class altogether, which suited me just fine." He folded his hands on his chest, looking up at Ada, who nodded encouragingly. "Anyway, it was coming up to the night of our senior prom. I thought I was in love with him, and for some stupid reason thought that he might feel the same way. I figured I'd ask him to prom. Plucked up the courage one night and kissed him, told him how I felt and just planted one on him."

"It didn't go well?"

Steve gave a hollow laugh. "You could say that. We'd been hanging out at mine, and he couldn't get out of there fast enough. Told me he wasn't gay, and just left before I could even say anything Oh, he was nice about it—let me down gently. He didn't really freak out on me—not in the way you hear about sometimes. He didn't yell, didn't call me names. But you could tell that he was freaking out inside, you know what I mean?” Ada nodded. “ Anyway, he went to prom with the hottest girl in our class, and just... barely spoke to me ever again. Really started pulling away from me after that night, but by the end of senior year we weren't even speaking. After graduation he moved to New York City for college, and his parents and sister upped sticks and followed him out to New York state so he wouldn't be totally by himself, a whole country away. And since he had no family here anymore, he never came back to visit, so I didn't even see him during the holidays or whatever. He never got in contact with me over the years, even though I’m still in the same house I was then so he could have found me if he’d wanted to, and I didn't even know how to begin looking for him. I wasn't even aware that he was back in Raccoon City until a couple of months ago, even though he'd been back for two years, and only then because a mutual acquaintance from high school told me he was back in town."

"Huh." Ada looked thoughtful.

"What?"

"Nothing." Ada shrugged. "I'm just pretty sure he lied to you that night. I'd be wiling to swear that he's gay. Like. I'd pretty much be willing to bet my life savings on it. If I had any."

"I doubt it," Steve retorted, suddenly annoyed. "He wouldn't have lied to me. He wasn't like that. Anyway," he added, leaning up onto his elbow, "it doesn't even matter any more. It was a really long time ago, and he's probably forgotten all about it." He took his jacket, which had been cushioning his head, off the floor and shook it out before slipping it on. "Come on. We'd better get going. We've wasted enough time here, if we want to reach the lab before it's compromised. If it hasn't been already."

He stood, checking the remains of his supply of ammo in his backpack. There wasn't very much left, and he frowned. Hopefully what was there would be enough to get them all the way to the lab. After reloading his weapons and strapping another few grenades to his belt, he nodded to Ada.

"Let's go."


	11. CHAPTER 10 - ESCAPE FROM A FIRST DEGREE MURDER SCENE

From where they were on the fire escape, Bucky had a pretty good view of exactly how trapped they were. Below, the infected were crowding around, reaching up, trying to grab hold of Bucky and Sherry with their rotting fingers. 

The stench was unbelievable, and it was all Bucky could do not to throw up over the side of the railing. It wasn't just the smell of rotten flesh; there was another element to it, which Bucky strongly suspected had to do with the nature of the virus. 

Sherry was sitting beside him, shivering in the cold October night. Her dress had long sleeves, but the material was pretty thin, and there was no way it could have kept her from feeling the cold. There was a kids’ clothing store just down the main street, if Bucky remembered correctly, if only they could get there. He was sure there’d be a coat or something in there—something that would keep the kid warm. 

But the street was pretty much clogged with infected humans and dogs, and no clear path out. 

He looked in his backpack. There was some spare ammo, but not as much as he would have liked. Not enough to kill all the infected below them. Even if he was lucky with his shots, he'd need double the amount of ammo he had to clear a path. It looked as though they might be trapped there. There was always the possibility of going through the building, breaking a window and heading through the apartments, but that just brought an element of the unknown. Besides, it was probably riskier to go from room to room where you didn't know what was coming, than to be out in the open with a clear view of the enemy. 

"What are we going to do, Bucky?" Sherry asked, her teeth chattering as she spoke. 

Bucky put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug. "We're gonna get out of here, that's what we're gonna do. I just need to figure out how." He looked down, a sudden idea coming to mind. Using one of the explosive grenades on the infected directly below them was a risk, and one that he definitely shouldn't take. They'd be way too close to the explosion where they were, and the chances of injury were too high. The flame grenade, however, might just do the trick, when combined with the explosive grenade thrown out into the main street at the crowds of infected there. It would hopefully clear a big enough path for them to escape

He took a fire grenade from his belt, double checking that he hadn't mixed them up before he pulled the pin and tossed it over the side of the railings. It hit the ground and burst into flames, setting the surrounding infected on fire. The slow-moving creatures had no hope of escaping the fire, as they staggered, flesh melting off their bones, their flaming clothing setting others on fire too until the whole alleyway below them was burning. 

The fire was spreading out onto the main street now; both via the infected and on the ground where there must have been an oil spill. The smoke rose past them, making both Bucky and Sherry cough and gag. The strong stench of burning flesh hit Bucky's nose like a bat to the face, and he retched, only just managing to hold onto the contents of his stomach. 

Through the smoke, he managed to pick out an explosive grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it as far as he could onto the main street. it bounced to a stop in the middle of a pack of dogs, who sniffed at it. Then suddenly it exploded, sending chunks of flesh and bone everywhere and setting the nearby cars on fire too. The flames were spreading fast now through the waves of infected, and slowly but surely they were all lighting on fire, their remains dropping to the ground, blackened and burned. The infected dogs that remained, Bucky picked off with his rifle, using the weapon sparingly and only for the creatures that could do the most damage to him and Sherry.

When the last infected fell, Bucky heaved a sigh of relief. 

"I think we're clear," he told Sherry, and she threw herself on him, hugging him tight. 

"How much further until we get to the lab?" she asked, and Bucky thought for a moment, calculating.

"Just under two miles, give or take," he said.

Sherry wrinkled her nose. "That far still?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. We'll be there in no time at all."

"I wish I was bigger so I could walk faster," Sherry said quietly. "I'm sorry I'm so slow."

Bucky took hold of her shoulders, turning her to face him, then lifted her chin with his finger. "Never think that, okay?" he said sternly. "I'd rather you were here with me and safe and we didn't move as fast, than you were somewhere else hurt, or worse, and I was there already. Okay?" She nodded, and he hugged her again. "Okay. Let's get out of here."

He let down the ladder, and climbed down first, weapon readied as Sherry climbed down behind him. They walked quickly out onto the main street, and Bucky led her straight toward the clothing store, past the vehicles which were still burning, the air thick with fumes. 

Corpses lay thick on the streets, and Bucky noticed a group of crows feeding on the dead infected.  _ Oh god, _ he thought to himself.  _ That can't be good. What if they leave the city and spread the virus to the far corners of the country before we can create the antivirus? _

That thought in mind, he shot one of the crows, and was taking aim on the next when they turned to look at him.

Oops.

The others obviously now saw him as a threat, and took off from the ground, flying towards Bucky and Sherry, cawing loudly. One of them swooped down and Bucky only just managed to duck out of the way in time, before shooting it down. No time to waste, Bucky grabbed hold of Sherry and picked her up, running the rest of the way toward the store as the crows chased behind them. 

"What are we doing in here?" she asked as he pushed the door open, killing an infected security guard who was standing in the entryway as though still guarding the store. 

Bucky barricaded the door shut. "Aside from trying to escape from those birds? You're cold, and we don't want you getting sick, so we're gonna find you something warm," Bucky told her. 

She laughed loudly—a child's laugh, joyous and carefree. It echoed in the empty store and she fell silent again immediately. Bucky took her hand and squeezed it. 

"Come on," he said gently. "Let's find you something warm to wear."

A key lay next to the body of the dead security guard, and Bucky picked it up. The word 'office' was written on the keyring in spidery handwriting, and he frowned thoughtfully. 

"We'll find you a jacket first, then we'll take a quick pitstop," he told her, and she nodded.

She picked out a cute denim jacket with rainbow and glitter detailing, and Bucky helped her on with it before picking up her backpack so she could slip her arms through the straps. Taking her hand again, they wandered through to the back of the store to a locked door. Bucky used the key to unlock it, and they went inside, making sure the door was locked tight behind them. 

The office was small, but there was a bathroom through the back. 

"You go first," Bucky told Sherry. 

"But I don't need to pee," she replied.

"Yeah, but you might before we get to where we're going," he said, then stopped. Jesus, he sounded like his parents did when he was a kid. 

Sherry didn't seem to notice his internal conflict. She nodded resignedly, as though she'd heard that before, and went through to the bathroom. She probably had heard it before, in all fairness. Bucky was pretty sure it was a staple thing for parents to say to their kids before they went on a journey. 

When Sherry was done, Bucky went to the bathroom himself. He hadn't realized how full his bladder had been until he'd started thinking about it; while Sherry was in there, it had been all that he could think about. He washed his hands and went back into the office, where Sherry was sitting on the desk, swinging her legs underneath her. 

There was a small refrigerator in the corner, and Bucky looked inside. There was a banana, a bottle of water, and a stale looking sandwich. Ignoring the sandwich, he grabbed the banana and the water, taking them over to Sherry. 

"You hungry?" he asked.

Sherry nodded. "A little."

He handed her the banana. "Eat this, then take a few sips of the water. Don't gulp it—you'll make yourself sick."

She took a bite of the banana and chewed slowly, then swallowed. "Bucky?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we gonna make it?"

Bucky looked at her sharply. "Of course we are. Don't even doubt it for a second."

"But how do you know?" she asked, no panic in her tone. Just genuine curiosity. 

He sighed. "Honestly? I don't. Not really. What I do know is that I'm one hell of a shot, and I'm still alive after all these hours so my chances of staying that way are pretty good. And if you're with me, your chances must be pretty good too."

"Oh, Okay." She continued to eat the banana, then took a few small sips of the water and handed the bottle to Bucky. 

Bucky also took a couple of sips, then put the bottle into Sherry's backpack. "Come on. Let's go," he said, and she hopped off the desk, following him out the door. 

They managed to get about ten feet before Bucky spotted one of the skinned creatures making its way slowly through the store. He grabbed Sherry's hand and they both stilled, watching it as it crawled up the wall to the second floor. Bucky counted to ten.

"Run," he whispered, and together they dashed toward the door. As they neared the exit, Sherry tripped over a fallen display, falling heavily onto the ground. She cried out in pain, and Bucky heard the creature above screech.

He pulled Sherry up on her feet, but she nearly fell again. It looked as though she couldn't support her weight on her right ankle. Bucky thought fast and picked her up, running back to the office with her and grabbing a pair of kids' leggings on the way.

Safely ensconced in the locked office, Bucky prodded lightly at her ankle. She started to cry, but he couldn't feel a break. 

It was swelling up already, so he grabbed the leggings and bound it tight. 

"Looks like you've sprained your ankle," he told her gently. "I'm gonna need you to be really, really brave for me right now, okay? Do you think you can walk on it?"

He helped her onto her feet, but she collapsed against him. "It hurts too bad," she sobbed.

Bucky nodded. "Okay. Wait here for me. I'll be back in a minute. Don't open the door to anyone, okay?"

"Okay."

Making sure the key was in his pocket, he readied his rifle. If one of those skinned creatures was running around, he was going to need the longer range. He opened the door and made his way out into the store, searching each aisle. Sometimes stores like this had some kind of little cart for small children to ride in, and he figured those would be his best bet of getting Sherry to the lab. 

He couldn't find what he needed on the first floor, so he took the escalator up to the second floor. There, on the wall opposite the top of the escalator, was the skinned creature, clinging unmoving to the glass. 

Bucky wasted no time. He silently aimed his rifle, and took the shot. 

The creature's head exploded and its body dropped to the ground. As he blinked, relieved, he heard a groaning behind him, and turned to see three infected coming toward him. He grabbed his handgun and fired, getting two in the forehead and a third in the jaw. The third infected moaned, still coming, its jaw hanging by a thread of muscle. Bucky fired again, this time hitting it right between the eyes, and it collapsed at his feet. 

He searched the whole of the second floor, and finally, in the far corner, he found something even better than he’d been hoping for: an adult’s wheelchair. The wheelchair was covered in blood spatters, but those were easy to clean off. Since it had belonged to an adult it would probably be a little bit big for Sherry, so he grabbed a couple of sweaters to pad the seat out. 

Sherry laughed when she saw what he had found. "Are you really going to push me in that all the rest of the way?" she asked. 

"Of course,” Bucky said with a grin. “And I might run part of the way, so you’ll have to hold on tight.”

She hopped over to the wheelchair and sat down, getting comfortable among the fluffy sweaters. Bucky pushed the wheelchair out into the street with one hand, the other carrying his gun at the ready. Two miles to the lab. Two miles left to go. 

They could do this.


	12. CHAPTER 11 - HOPE IS WHAT MAKES US STRONG

The sky on the horizon was beginning to turn pinkish yellow. Steve paused to admire the colors, but Ada shoved him on the shoulder. 

“Don’t stop now,” she told him. “We’re almost there. The lab is just around the corner, through those trees.”

Steve nodded. “I know.”

“You’ve been here?”

“Nah,” Steve replied, laughing. “Well. I’ve driven past it during my time as an officer, when I was patrolling the city. Never been right up to the door, though. Never had any reason to go there.”

“Well, I guess now you have a reason.”

When they reached the parking lot of the lab, they looked around, expecting at least a few infected. 

There was nothing. Only the sound of the wind in the trees that surrounded the building. But nor was there any sound of birdsong, and Steve’s hair stood up on the back of his neck. It was an unnatural quiet, and he was suddenly more afraid than he’d been for the whole night. There were infected here somewhere. He’d bet his life on it. 

“I’m going to go inside,” Ada said. “I need to look for John.”

“Okay.” Steve looked around, spotting a fire escape going up the side of the lab. “I might head up there. Get a bird’s eye view of the lay of the land. Plus it means I’ll be able to spot Bucky when he’s on his way here, so if any infected show up I can cover his approach.”

“And if he never gets here?” Ada asked. Steve frowned, as one of the infected appeared around the corner behind Ada. He lifted his weapon without a word and shot it, and Ada’s eyes widened as she whipped around, watching the corpse fall to the ground. 

“He’ll get here,” Steve said emphatically. 

“If you say so.” She turned back to him. “Thanks, by the way.”

Steve shrugged. “Don’t mention it.”

“Then I guess this is it,” Ada said, a small smile playing on her lips. “Thanks for helping me get here.”

Steve couldn’t help but laugh at that. “I don’t know how much help I was, given the concussion and everything, if I’m honest. But anyway, good luck. I hope you manage to find John, and that he’s okay.” He frowned. “How do you intend to get inside? The place looks pretty shut up.”

“John gave me his entry code,” she replied casually—too casually. She was lying, and Steve knew it. But it wasn’t like he could do anything. Confronting her alone was a bad idea. If Bucky had been there…

But Bucky wasn’t there. Steve took a deep breath. Soon. He’d arrive soon. 

He held out his hand to Ada. “Well, good luck again.”

She shook his hand, frowning. “You know… the search for John would go a lot quicker with the two of us looking.”

Steve couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, probably. But I’m not going anywhere without Bucky. We said we’d meet here. I’m not going to go into the lab without him—what if he gets here and he thinks we’ve gone, or we haven’t made it? I’m going to be here to meet him when he gets here, and if you want to wait for him with me, that’s fine.”

“Ugh,” Ada groaned, laughing with him. “Fine. We’ll wait for him. But if he’s not here in an hour then we assume he’s not coming and go into the lab to look for John. Okay?”

Steve didn’t like the idea of setting a time limit—what if Bucky had been held up and took more than an hour to get there?—but he recognized the logic behind the suggestion and sighed. “Okay. Fine. An hour. But we have to wait for the full hour.”

“Deal.” Ada nodded toward the fire escape. “Let’s go climb up that thing, then, and wait for your friend.”

They didn’t come across any more infected as they walked quickly to the fire escape, but neither of them relaxed until they’d climbed up the ladder and the first set of stairs. Even then, Ada was on the alert, weapon drawn, eyes darting around. 

“Why so worried?” Steve asked lazily. “We’re safe from everything up here. The infected can’t reach us here. Even that huge thing can’t get to us up here, we’re up too high for it to reach.”

“Well, if they were the only things we had to worry about then I’d relax,” Ada replied, frowning. 

“What do you mean?” Steve asked, his heart sinking. 

“There are… other considerations. John told me—when he called me yesterday, he told me that it wasn’t just this virus they were experimenting with. There were other experiments—gene mutations of humans and animals, which they’d then infect with the virus. More terrifying and more vicious than the humans who were just infected, but also faster and stronger, without the same weaknesses as those that had just been infected.”

_ What the fuck _ . “They experimented with gene mutations? What does that even mean? And why?”

“It means that they can change the way the host reacts to the virus and its side effects. Imagine the kinds of monsters they could create using both methods.” She gave a short laugh. “On second thoughts, actually, maybe try not to think about it. You’ll just scare yourself.”

Steve was glad that, for the first time since this whole thing had started, he didn’t actually understand what was being said. He had the feeling that if he’d understood what Ada was talking about he’d never sleep again. That’s when the ramifications hit him, and he gasped. “Shit,” Steve swore. “What if some of those mutations got free and made it into the city?”

“I’d be willing to bet that some of them have,” Ada said. “In fact, that giant thing… It being one of those experiments is the only thing that makes sense. How else could it have looked that way? There aren’t any humans who are naturally eight feet tall or are missing their genitalia in a way that looks natural, if you can use that word in this context.”

“Oh god.” Steve felt the blood leaving his face, and went lightheaded with fear. “Oh god. I hope Bucky hasn’t found any of them. Or that none of them have found Bucky.”

Ada sighed. “Chances are that if they’re out there, he’s encountered at least one of them. It wouldn’t surprise me at all. But the probability of those things is why I’m waiting with you. There’s stuff in there that it’s definitely best I don’t…” 

She trailed off suddenly, placing her finger to her lips. Steve looked at her curiously, and she pointed. Following her gaze, he saw a woman walking around the building. She didn’t look like she was infected, and she was armed with a handgun. Steve shot a look at Ada, confused as to why they weren’t making the woman aware of their presence. 

The woman passed around the corner, and after a few moments Ada let out a long breath. 

“What was all that about?” Steve whispered. 

“What do you mean?” Ada retorted, eyebrow raised. 

“You know exactly what I mean. Why didn’t we tell her that we were hiding up here? Aren’t we all about strength in numbers?”

Ada sighed. “Because I know her. That was the lab’s head scientist’s—William Birkin’s—wife. I think that she’s in on the whole thing; I know that he must have been—he was in charge of the whole project—and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’d told his wife, so we can’t trust her.”

“Why would you think that?” 

“I met her at a staff party I was at with John. She was pretty weird anyway, but when we were talking—in pretty broad terms—about the work they did, she spoke about it as if they were working on the second coming.”

Steve’s face twisted. “That is really weird.”

“It was. There’s something seriously weird about her overall. I know they had a little girl, who had some kind of illness, but she barely even mentioned the child during the evening. Just all about how amazing the work at the lab was, and how proud she was of her husband.”

“Hmm.”

They sat there in silence for some time, watching out for any dangerous creatures. Steve was also keeping an eye on the road that led to the city, watching out for Bucky. He refused to lose hope, even as the minutes ticked by. 

He looked at his watch. Thirty minutes had passed since they arrived; Bucky had thirty more minutes to find them. 

_ Please, _ he thought, clasping his hands and bowing his head.  _ Please let him get here unharmed. Please let him be okay. Please don’t let those monsters have got to him. _

Still the minutes ticked by. Steve fidgeted, stopping only when Ada punched him on the arm. 

“Will you stop?” she growled. “You’re not helping.”

“I’m just…”

“I know.” She gave him a sympathetic look. “But he’s been by himself for hours. The chances of him making it are pretty slim.”

“He was in the army before he started working at the lab,” Steve protested. “He’s trained for situations like this.”

“There are no other situations like this,” Ada retorted. 

Steve heaved a sigh. She was right, but he didn’t want to admit it. 

There was a sudden noise in the distance. It sounded a little like bicycle wheels, only not. Steve stood, readying his gun and watching the path that led through the trees. 

A man appeared around the corner, pushing a small girl in a wheelchair. Steve squinted at them, and gasped. 

“Bucky!” he cried, and raced down the fire escape. His relief made him lightheaded, and he almost fell more than once, but he quickly reached the bottom, Ada close behind him. Steve didn’t think he’d ever seen so happy to see anyone in his life…

But Bucky didn’t seem happy to see them. In fact, he’d stopped at the edge of the parking lot and was aiming his gun at Steve and Ada. He skidded to a halt, stopping so suddenly that Ada ran into his back and he stumbled. 

“Bucky?” he called, but Bucky didn’t reply, simply stood still with his gun raised. “Bucky?”

“Don’t move!” Bucky yelled. “Don’t move or I’ll shoot!”


	13. CHAPTER 12 - REVELATIONS

Bucky had never been as glad to see the woods surrounding the lab in his life. He felt almost giddy with relief; they had finally made it there, and hopefully Steve would be there to meet them. 

If Steve had managed to survive the night. 

Bucky shook himself. He’d see soon enough. No point in working himself up when there was a possibility that the worst hadn’t happened. He sent up another prayer, even though he knew that it was too late at that point—what had happened would have happened by then. Still. 

Sherry had still been shivering in the early morning chill, despite her new jacket, so Bucky had draped his own jacket around her shoulders, tucking it in around her in an effort to warm her up. He didn’t want her surviving a viral outbreak only to die from catching pneumonia. 

“Won’t you be cold?” she had asked him, eyes wide. 

Bucky shook his head, laughing. “The amount of energy I’ve got to use to keep us safe? I’ll be okay. Besides, I’m walking, which will keep me warm. You’re sitting down, so you’ll get colder.”

Sherry had laughed too, but as they made their way through the silence of the wood, Bucky didn’t feel that much like laughing. There was something very, very wrong. It was all too quiet, in that same way as when it snowed—like someone had muffled all sound. 

They rounded the corner, to the path that led to the parking lot. In the distance Bucky saw some movement and squinted. There were two figures making their way down the fire escape, and Bucky’s heart leapt. The figure in front was Steve, and behind him was Ada. They had made it. 

He wanted to run to Steve—to wrap his arms around him and never let go. But as Steve and Ada got closer, Sherry made a panicked noise. 

“It’s okay,” Bucky said jubilantly. “That’s my friend, Steve!”

“No, Bucky,” she whispered urgently. “That’s the bad lady!”

“Bad lady?” Bucky asked, confused, stopping in his tracks. 

“The bad lady I told you about, who tried to take me before, when I got separated from my mommy. The big monster came and scared her off while I hid, and then I ran.” Sherry was near hysterics now, and Bucky narrowed his eyes. He’d known that Ada wasn’t on the level, but to try to kidnap a child?

“Why was she trying to take you from your mommy?” he asked. 

“She wants my medicine for the people she works for,” Sherry replied. 

Wasting no more time, Bucky raised his gun and aimed toward Ada. Steve stopped running toward them, and Ada stopped behind him. Steve looked confused at the sight of Bucky pointing his gun at them, which was unsurprising. 

Steve called his name twice, but Bucky remained steady. 

“Don’t move!” he shouted at Ada. “Don’t move or I’ll shoot!”

“Buck, what’s going on?” Steve asked. 

“Ada!” Bucky yelled as she made to step forward, past Steve. “Stay where you are or I will shoot you. I mean it!”

Steve paused and took a step backwards, looking between Bucky and Ada. “What are you…?”

“Steve, you come here,” Bucky told him. “Ada, you stay right there or I swear to god I will shoot you and you won’t be getting back up again.”

Ada lunged for Steve, cobra-quick, but Steve was faster, evading her and running to Bucky and Sherry. Thwarted, Ada quickly reached for a knife from her belt. Bucky took aim and shot it from her hand, and she cursed. 

“Fuck you!”

“I’d rather not,” Bucky retorted calmly. 

Ada held her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Okay. But can we talk about this? Give me the girl. Just give me the girl and I can guarantee your safety. I’ll get you out of here. I’ve got a chopper on call, and if you just give her to me then I’ll give you a ride to wherever you want. But I need the girl.”

“No fucking way,” Bucky replied, narrowing his eyes. “I’m not going to just give you a little girl so that you can experiment on her for your own gain. That’s sick. I can’t believe you would even think I would do that. I don’t care who you work for—you’re not getting her.”

“Hydra,” Ada said, shrugging and laughing. She knew that it didn’t matter anymore. The game was up. “I work for Hydra, and I would strongly suggest that you not cross us. We have people everywhere. You’ll never escape us. We will find you—all of you—wherever you are. Now give. Me. The girl.”

“Not happening,” Bucky returned. “If you want the virus so bad you’ll just have to go into the lab and get it yourself. Sherry is staying with us.”

“Her mom has just gone in the building,” Ada told him, and Sherry made a small noise. “So are you going to go find her, or are you going to kidnap the kid instead, sell her to the highest bidder? She’s a high value commodity, you know.”

So her mom was still alive. That was amazing, given everything. At least Sherry definitely still had at least one parent. “We’re not kidnapping her,” he responded. “And we’re not going to sell her off, you sick bitch. We’re taking her to safety. We’re neither of us in the business of kidnapping little kids, unlike you.”

“Even knowing what she would be worth, given the way she’s responded to the virus and its antidote? What the samples she’s carrying would be worth to my employers and so many others? You’re really just going to stand in the way of that?”

“Yeah, we are,” Bucky replied, determined. “We’re gonna make sure that she…”

A shot rang out across the parking lot, and Bucky’s arm stung. He looked down, to see that the bullet had grazed his arm. Fuck, it hurt like a bitch. 

“Give me my daughter, you bastards!” yelled a woman’s voice. Bucky looked up and saw a blond woman striding towards them, weapon raised and aimed right at Bucky. 

Bucky held up his hands. “Ma’am, we’re just trying to make sure the girl gets somewhere safe, and to find her mom. Now you’re here, we’ll be able to get you out too.”

“Don’t lie to me!” the woman screamed. “I know her. Ada Wong. She dated—or pretended to date—John Clemens to try and find out as many secrets of Umbrella’s workings as she could. And all the time, she worked for that scum, Hydra.”

Ada scoffed. “Hydra pays your bills, lady. Without buyers Umbrella would have collapsed years ago.”

“Shut up, bitch, I wasn’t talking to you!” the woman spat out. “We didn’t know the truth about her until she turned up at our door after the outbreak, trying to kidnap Sherry. When we were separated by that horrible creature, I thought that Ada had got away with her, and I came here to find William so that we could plan what to do next. But I can’t find him…”

Her face crumpled, and her hands shook around the gun. Bucky turned to Ada and glared at her. 

“I should shoot you where you stand,” he said through gritted teeth, anger and loathing coloring his tone. 

Ada shrugged. “Probably. But you won’t.”

“Well I will.” The woman aimed her gun at Ada, but Ada wasted no time, dropping to the ground and rolling away from the shot. Before the woman could do more than blink, Ada was up and running toward the lab, and although she fired a few shots after her they all went wide. She made as if to run after Ada; but Ada had already made it into the building. 

“Mommy?” Sherry said suddenly, breaking the tension. 

The woman whirled around, and aimed her gun at Bucky again. “Now who the hell are you and what are you doing with my daughter?”

“Mommy, don’t hurt him!” Sherry said, starting to cry. “His name is Bucky and he saved me and he’s really nice and good. He brought me here to find you and daddy, because he and daddy used to work together.”

“Then you really can’t be trusted,” the woman said. 

“I didn’t know what they were making. I thought I was working for the military,” Bucky said, trying not to make any sudden moves. The woman was clearly on the edge; he didn’t want to give her an excuse. “I know now, but all I want to do is help. That’s all.”

“Please, Mommy,” Sherry begged. “You have to believe him. He wouldn’t give me to the bad lady. He’s good.”

The woman looked at them for a long moment, the. slowly lowered her gun. 

Steve made an abortive move toward her, but Bucky grabbed his arm, shaking his head. 

“Leave her,” he murmured, as the woman ran to them, picking up Sherry and hugging her tightly. 

“God, Sherry, I thought I’d lost you for good,” the woman said, voice muffled from where it was buried in Sherry’s shoulder. She went to put her daughter back down, but Sherry winced. 

“I can’t stand, Mommy. I hurt my ankle when I fell.”

The woman looked up at Bucky, who shrugged. “She twisted it when we were running away from something. But we made it here, didn’t we, kiddo?”

“We sure did, Bucky!”

The woman set Sherry down in the wheelchair and held her hand out to Bucky. “I’m Annette Birkin. And thank you.”

Bucky frowned at her, gesturing to his injured arm. “You shot me, and now you want me to shake your hand?” he said, quietly so that Sherry wouldn’t hear. 

“God, I’m so sorry,” Annette said sheepishly. “I honestly thought you were working with Ada. I thought Sherry was in danger.”

“It’s fine,” Bucky told her, too tired to argue. “Just… maybe ask first, shoot later next time, hmm?”

“Yeah. I didn’t know you were helping her, and I’m grateful. I really am. I doubt she’d have made it if you hadn’t found her, so…”

“Yeah, it was pretty lucky that I did.” Bucky smiled down at Sherry. “Lucky for me as much as for her.”

“So your name is Bucky?”

Bucky nodded. “Bucky Barnes. Dr James Barnes properly, but everyone calls me Bucky. This is Steve Rogers.”

Steve nodded at Annette. “Sergeant Steve Rogers, RPD,” he added, and Annette smiled widely at them. 

“I am pleased to meet you both… first impressions to the contrary.”

“We need to speak to your husband,” Bucky said. “I know that he did what he did for your daughter, but now we need his antidote formula so we can take it to the authorities to stop this virus spreading even further.”

Annette shook her head, taking a step back. “You can’t. They’d arrest William! They’d say this was all his fault and lock him up forever.”

“We don’t need to take the three of you with us,” Bucky said reassuringly. “We’ll take one of the cars from the parking lot and you can drop us off where we need to be. Your husband doesn’t have to be with us. We don’t need him—just his formulae and any relevant information he can give us.”

“I guess that might be okay,” Annette said slowly. “As long as he doesn’t get into trouble. But the lab is full of the infected—I don’t know if he’s still, you know, or if he’s in hiding somewhere or what’s happened.”

“Well, we'd better go look for him, then.” Bucky grinned at her, readying his rifle. 

They group began to make their way through the parking lot. They only made it halfway there when the front door of the lab burst open in a shower of glass, and out ran about a hundred huge rats, followed closely by a giant, muscular mutation. It had what looked like a giant eye under its right armpit, its head was split in two, with a mass of tentacles coming out…

...And it was heading straight toward them.


	14. CHAPTER 13 - ASK THE GHOSTS IF HONOR MATTERS

Sherry screamed, and Steve sprang into action, using his shotgun to blast at the wave of infected rats. Beside him, Bucky was aiming his rifle at the enormous creature, firing off multiple shots which did nothing to slow the creature down. 

“Fuck, what do we do?” Bucky yelled. 

“Try hitting that weird eye thing?” Steve shouted back. 

“Right!”

Bucky fired again, hitting the massive eye on one side. It sprayed out a mess of blood and pus, and the creature made a noise somewhere between a scream and a roar, immediately slowing down to a limp. Steve and Annette tried to slow the approach of the rats, and although Annette wasn’t a great shot they were still making some headway. An idea struck Steve, and he took a flame grenade from his belt, pulling the pin and throwing it at the creature’s feet. 

Several of the rats were caught in the flames, as the creature dropped to its knees, flames licking over its body. Even some of the tentacles were aflame. 

It looked up at them, growling, and slowly stood again. 

“Oh  _ shit _ ,” Steve cursed. 

There were only a few rats left, and Steve dispatched them easily, before turning his attention to the hobbling creature. Their bullets didn’t seem to be having any effect on it, and although its skin was melting off it seemed determined to reach them. Steve could see muscle and bone showing now, and it was the most disgusting thing he had ever seen. Which, given the rest of the last twenty four hours, was saying something. 

Annette panicked, turning to grab hold of Sherry’s wheelchair. The creature stopped, staring at the child, and let out a long howl. 

_ What the fuck? _

Bucky took the opportunity of the creature’s stillness. He aimed his rifle right in the center of the giant eye, and fired. It exploded, the disgusting fluids falling just short of them, and the creature fell flat on the ground in a puddle of blood. 

“Is it dead?” Steve asked cautiously. 

“God, I hope so,” Bucky replied. “Come on. Let’s go.”

They walked around the creature; as they passed, Steve noticed something shining on the ground beside it, and bent to pick it up. It was a security pass, and he turned it over, gasping when he read the name on it. 

_ William Birkin _ . 

“Oh god,” Steve said softly. 

“What is it?” Bucky asked, and Steve gave him the pass. Annette glanced at it, and let out a low moan. 

“Oh my god! It can’t be. That monster couldn’t have been my husband. It couldn’t!”

She began to sob, as Sherry looked up with wide, scared eyes. “Mommy?”

“I’m so sorry,” Bucky said quietly. 

“Ada told me that Umbrella we’re experimenting with gene mutations and then infecting the mutations with the virus,” Steve said. “It looks as though that may be what happened to your husband.”

“Who would have done this? And how?” Annette asked through her tears. 

“I don’t know,” Bucky told her, “but we have to keep moving. I’m sorry.”

Annette nodded, sniffing, and they walked up to the door of the lab. Using William’s pass to get inside, they slipped through the door. 

“Where to, Buck?” Steve asked. 

“This way,” Bucky replied, pointing to the stairway. 

“But I can’t use the stairs!” Sherry whined, and Bucky grinned. 

“Then you’ll just have to piggyback on me. Come on, kid.”

“I’ll carry the wheelchair down,” Steve added. “We’ll need it when we get to where we’re going.”

Bucky nodded, and Steve helped Sherry onto Bucky’s back. Together, they went slowly down the stairs, Bucky leading the way. The stairway was empty aside from them, and Steve began to think that maybe they’d got lucky. 

That lasted until they got to the floor with the labs. 

The door opened to several infected milling around, most of them wearing lab coats. 

Annette took Sherry off of Bucky’s back, and Bucky took out his baton as Steve readied his baseball bat. He had precious little ammo left, and needed to conserve as much as he could; he figured that Bucky was in the same position. 

“God, I know these people,” Bucky whispered. 

“Don’t think about it, Buck. It’s like you told me before—they’re not the people you knew. They’re something else—already dead, or worse.”

Bucky nodded, and they pulled their t-shirts up over their mouths to protect them from blood splatter. They began to work their way through the infected as the creatures lurched toward them. Using the bat and baton was messier than bullets, as expected, and neither Bucky or Steve escaped without a fair amount of blood over their clothes. Steve was glad they’d thought to protect their mouths, or some would certainly have gone in. 

When the room was clear, Steve heaved a sigh, wiping a bloodied hand on the front of his shirt. 

“Onward?” he said to Bucky, who gave a tired laugh. 

“Yeah.”

“Survival, right?”

Bucky nodded. “Survival.”

There were many more infected in the corridor leading to the offices, but Steve and Bucky managed to dispatch each one. Annette was following behind in silence, pushing Sherry in the wheelchair as the child cried quietly. It had been a long night for her, Steve mused as he smashed in the head of another infected. A long night for all of them. He felt that he would quite like to sit on the floor and have a good cry himself, but that wasn’t an option. At least not yet. 

They turned a corner, and an infected woman with long dark hair surprised them, almost catching Bucky with blood stained fingers. Steve swung the bat quickly, catching her with a glancing blow at the side of her head. She turned slowly to face Steve, and the moment’s hesitation gave him the time to ready himself and hit her head bang on target. 

She dropped like a stone. 

Bucky looked down at her. “That was Angela,” he whispered. “We used to eat lunch together. She always ate pastrami on rye on Tuesdays.”

Steve clasped Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky gave him a watery smile, and carried on down the now empty corridor. 

“Here,” Bucky said, stopping in front of a door. The name plate outside read: ‘Dr William Birkin, Head Scientist’. “Hopefully we’ll find everything we need in here.”

He touched Birkin’s security pass to the lock, and the door clicked. Bucky pushed it open. 

The room was clear. 

As Bucky made his way to the computer, Steve frowned. “Won’t you need his password?” he asked. 

Bucky shook his head. “No, the pass unlocks it.”

“Helpful,” Steve murmured, closing the door behind them as Bucky logged in. 

“Yeah. Now to just find the right files.” Bucky frowned, clicking away. Annette wheeled Sherry away from the door, and Steve took out his gun, just in case. 

There were photographs around the room; many of them were family photographs, and Steve’s heart lurched when he realized that the three of them would never be together again. He wondered why, and how, Birkin had been so mutated. Had he done it to himself? Had someone exposed him to mutation for some reason? Had it been an accident?

“Found the formula,” Bucky said suddenly, breaking the silence. “Looks like I wasn’t far off with my own model. And… I’ve found something else.”

Steve strode over to Bucky and stood behind him, leaning down over his shoulder. Bucky smelled metallic, like blood, and of sweat, but still with a slight hint of his spicy aftershave. Steve pursed his lips, angry with himself. Now was not the time. 

“What is it?” he asked, trying to focus on the screen and not on Bucky’s nearness. 

“It’s another file. It’s called ‘projects’.” Bucky opened the file, and Steve stared at the first page. 

“Buck… what the hell is that thing?”

The photograph was like something out of a nightmare. 

“We saw those,” Bucky said quietly. “Apparently they call it a licker. You can see the tongue, but it’s longer than you can see in that photo.”

“Longer?” Steve swallowed hard.

“Yeah. It flicks out and they can grab stuff with it.”

“What the  _ fuck _ .”

“Yeah. It’s a mutation, like I thought, where they increase muscle mass so far it splits the skin, which then falls off. The brain grows too, so far that it covers the eyes and blinds it.” He let out a long breath. “They were originally human? Jesus. Where did they find their victims?”

“It looks like they took convicted felons from death row in Oregon. Like, broke in and kidnapped them.”

“Shit.”

Bucky scrolled down the page. The next one made Steve gasp. 

“That’s the thing that separated us.” It was labeled as a ‘Tyrant’. 

“Oh my god,” Bucky murmured. “This… this isn’t even… Steve, this was grown from a mutated embryo. They’ve been running these mutation experiments for years, trying to create some kind of indestructible soldier.”

“Jesus.” Steve closed his eyes briefly, trying to imagine what kinds of people would do this.  _ Evil _ , his mind supplied. It was the only reasoning behind such a thing. 

“Shit,” Bucky swore, scrolling further. “There are other kinds of Tyrants, and that licker thing can mutate further. The notes say that the second mutation is even faster and more deadly than the first. If that’s true… Steve, I’ve seen firsthand what these things are capable of.”

“Where are these things now?”

Bucky shrugged. “In the building somewhere, I guess, unless they’ve escaped too. All we can do is hope that somehow they’re still locked up wherever they were being kept. If they’ve managed to get out…”

“What should we do?”

Bucky’s mouth was set in a grim line. “What we have to. We go to the lab, make some of the antidote.”

“Why?”

“As a safeguard. We’ve still got a ways to go. If any of us get infected, this will be the only thing that saves us. Plus it’s something we can take to the military base. They can manufacture more there with the formula.”

He switched back to the other document, hitting a few keys. The printer in the corner whirred to life, spitting out a few sheets of paper before falling silent again. 

Bucky stood and grabbed the paper. “Let’s go.”

They left Birkin’s office, making their way cautiously through the corridors. There were very few infected now, and Steve and Bucky managed to kill them easily. Bucky was pale, and Steve’s heart went out to him. He knew how Bucky felt; to kill people you’d worked with and cared about wasn’t something he ever wanted to experience again. 

There was a scratching noise from above, and the four of them paused, looking at each other. 

“What’s up there?” Steve mouthed at Bucky. 

“The ventilation system,” Bucky mouthed back. “Hopefully it’s just rats.”

Steve hoped so too. Infected rats, while gross and still terrifying, were nothing compared to what else might be lurking there. 

The noise moved on, and after a few moments, Bucky heaved a breath. 

“Come on. We’ve got to keep going,” he whispered. 

Steve nodded, and together they walked slowly down the corridor, the only noise the slight squeaking of Sherry’s wheelchair. When they reached the door of the lab, Bucky let them inside. 

Four infected turned immediately toward them. 

The door slammed shut behind them, and Steve and Bucky immediately went to work, bringing the infected down. As the last one fell, Steve could feel Bucky shaking beside him. He grasped hold of Bucky’s arm and squeezed. 

“You okay?” he asked. 

Bucky nodded, taking a few gulps of air. “Yeah. I’ll be okay.”

He gently removed Steve’s hand from his arm, and strode toward the machine at the far side. Holding up the sheet with the formula on, he began typing on a keyboard. 

After a few moments he pulled back, and the machine started up, the noise loud in the quiet of the lab. 

Bucky stood at the far end, waiting. The four of them were silent—Steve couldn’t think of a single thing to say to break the tension. Finally, after a few minutes, the machine spat out a sealed vial. Then another. As a third vial came out of the machine, there was a loud scratching noise from above and the ceiling fell in. 

Not just the ceiling, though.


	15. CHAPTER 14 - I AM AN EXIT

Oh  _ shit _ . 

Bucky stepped forward, hitting the off button on the machine to silence it, in an attempt to calm the massive, mutated licker which now stood before them. It was bigger than the lickers they had seen in the city—its muscles were enormous, and its teeth seemed to shine sharper in the fluorescent lights. Its tongue looked bigger too; it was enormous as it whipped out of the licker’s mouth, thickly muscled, tasting the air around it. Bucky stilled. If they could just stay still and quiet, then maybe the creature wouldn’t attack. He hoped that it, too, was blinded by the enormous oversized brain covering its eyes. 

The creature began to move in his general direction. Sherry, clearly terrified by the proximity of the licker, screamed, and the creature turned toward her in a frenzy. 

Bucky leapt into action in a panic, immediately firing off two shots at the creature. They landed off target, embedding themselves in the back of the creature’s neck. The licker spun around, back toward Bucky, lashing out with its hugely muscled arm and sending Bucky flying across the room into a glass cabinet full of spare test tubes. His head whacked off of the wall behind the cabinet, and his vision blurred. 

Fuck, that hurt. At least it hadn’t used its claws, though. He sat there in a pile of broken glass for a moment, dazed, as the licker came back into focus, prowling toward him. 

“Hey!” Steve yelled, the self sacrificing bastard, clearly trying to distract the creature from Bucky. The licker turned around and whipped its tongue out at Steve, who was ready with his knife. Bucky saw the flash of the blade, and a huge chunk of the licker’s tongue was suddenly on the floor. 

The creature screeched in pain, blood spurting copiously from its mouth, between its teeth, making it look—if possible—even more terrifying. Bucky stood shakily, took aim with his rifle, and fired two shots directly at the center of the licker’s head. The exposed brain exploded over the wall behind it, and Bucky lowered his gun, scrubbing a hand exhaustedly over his face. 

He strode up to the others. “We can’t stay here any longer,” he told them. “Looks like the whole lab is compromised by the monsters they created. We’ll just have to make do with what we’ve already got.”

He went back to the machine, taking down a case for the vials, and storing the three vials of antidote inside, along with some syringes. Just in case. Although Sherry had some of the antidote too, there was no way Bucky was taking that off of her. She had no way of getting more now, and he wanted to give her a fighting chance. Besides, it paid to be prepared, and he was taking zero chances. 

Bucky had been a Boy Scout after all. It may have been what felt like a lifetime ago, but some things stuck with you. 

Next came the perilous journey back out of the lab. Now that they knew the lickers were loose in the building—and not just the smaller ones, but the more mutated ones too—it made things a lot more terrifying. Bucky felt as though he had been running on adrenaline for the last ten hours, and wished that they could just take a break. 

They couldn’t, though. Not until they reached the base. Not until they found military backup. Then they could relax, and Bucky might finally be able to say to Steve what he’d wanted to say for all those years. 

Bucky’s baton had broken on the head of one of his colleagues. Georgina, her name had been. An older woman, she had been kind of the mother of their group—always with painkillers on hand if you had a headache, or with Theraflu if you felt a bit under the weather. And now she was lying dead on the floor of the lab with her skull bashed in. 

Bucky shuddered. 

He checked his ammo stash. Three handgun clips left, and his rifle was empty. He threw it to the ground. Steve did the same with his shotgun. “How many have you got left?” Bucky asked. 

“Two,” Steve replied, grimacing. “You?”

“Three.”

There was the same look in Steve’s eyes as Bucky felt in his own; a kind of hopeless resignation to fate. 

_ Well, fuck that _ , Bucky thought to himself.  _ I’m not giving up that easily. If we don’t get the antidote to military personnel who knows when this could end.  _

Bucky let out a long breath. “Okay. You ready to go?” Steve and Annette nodded, while Sherry looked up at him with wide eyes. “Okay. Let’s go.”

The corridor outside was still clear, although Bucky could hear a distant groaning. There were more infected around there somewhere. Bucky just wished he knew where, so he could be prepared. 

“We need to move fast,” Steve murmured, and Bucky nodded. 

They began to walk quickly back toward the stairway. Bucky had his handgun ready, and Steve held his baseball bat. Bucky noticed that Steve’s knuckles were white around it, but chose to say nothing. They were both allowed to be on edge, given the last ten hours. Bucky was frankly surprised that they were both still standing. 

As they neared the door to the stairway, there were more scratching noises from above. The group halted, staying as still and quiet as they possibly could until the noise passed. Bucky and Steve exchanged another glance. There were more of those things in the ventilation, which was never going to be a good thing, but given how fast and strong those things had proven to be—given how little ammo they both had left…

Bucky wasn’t holding out much hope for their chances of making it out unscathed. He didn’t, however, intend to go down without a fight, and it was with that in mind that he silently aimed his gun at the noises, waiting, just in case. 

The skittering sound turned a corner, and after a few moments Bucky nodded to the others, holding a finger to his lips. If only those wheels didn’t squeak so much. Bucky would have killed for some grease to oil them. 

They reached the stairway, and Bucky turned so that Steve could put Sherry on his back again. She clung on tight, too tight, and he laughed quietly. 

“A little looser around the neck, kiddo,” he whispered, and she immediately loosened her grip. 

“Sorry, Bucky!” she whispered back. 

“It’s okay.” If Bucky was honest with himself, he was glad that he could still laugh, even in the midst of such horror. “You ready?”

“Yeah.”

He opened the door, and one by one they trooped up the stairs. Bucky prayed every step that it would stay clear; he’d had fights on staircases before, and they were an absolute bitch, tactically. And when your enemy was something that could climb walls… Bucky smothered a shudder. He didn’t want to scare Sherry anymore than she already was. He had to stay strong for her if for no other reason. 

They reached the first floor landing without incident, and Bucky nodded to Steve. As Steve and Annette helped Sherry back into the wheelchair, Bucky opened the door to the large reception area. 

It was still empty, but Bucky stayed on the alert. He looked up at the balcony above, but it appeared to be empty. 

“THE BUILDING’S SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM HAS BEEN ACTIVATED. FIVE MINUTES UNTIL THIS LABORATORY SELF DESTRUCTS.”

The woman’s voice over the speaker made Bucky nearly jump out of his skin. The lab had a self destruct system? Who the  _ fuck _ put a self destruct system on a fucking lab? Then Bucky thought about the kind of horrors that had been housed there. Suddenly, the idea didn’t seem so ludicrous. 

“What the fuck?” Steve cursed behind him. “Did you do that, Bucky?”

“Not me!” Bucky replied. “I don’t know who…”

He looked at Steve, who had obviously come to the same realization. “Ada,” they said at the same time. 

“We gotta get out fast,” Bucky said, and they rushed toward the exit. 

They were nearly there when a licker climbed down the glass wall in front of them, screeching loudly. Bucky, taken completely by surprise, fumbled with his gun, and it had nearly reached them when a shot rang out and the creature’s head exploded. Bucky looked sharply up to the balcony, and saw a flash of dark hair. 

_ Ada _ . 

But why the hell would she take the time to save them, when they obviously weren’t on the same team? He saw Steve’s face as he opened the door, and he felt a pang in his chest. 

Steve. 

Steve and Ada. 

They’d spent all that time together. Maybe there was something between them, despite Ada’s loyalties to this Hydra company she worked for. This company who were obviously on the wrong side of the law. 

They ran out into the parking lot, and Bucky’s thoughts jumbled through his mind. 

Maybe they’d fallen for each other. Maybe Steve wished that Ada had stayed with them. The thought made him ache, and he tried to push it to one side. Why should he even care? Yeah, okay. It had been weird seeing Steve again after all that time, with long-buried feelings surfacing again when he thought he had dealt with them. But it wasn’t like they knew each other anymore. Wasn’t like they’d even spent that much time together since their reunion last night. And, okay, maybe Steve was the hottest guy that Bucky had seen in a long time, maybe ever, but so what? It wasn’t like Steve still thought that way about him. Too much water had passed under the bridge for that. 

“Where’s Birkin?” Steve said suddenly, interrupting Bucky’s thoughts. 

Bucky looked down. The body of the creature William Birkin had become was gone. All that was left was a huge patch of blood. Maybe he’d been moved, or taken, by the same people Ada worked for. 

Maybe he wasn’t dead. 

“Shit. I don’t know, but we’d better get out of here before we find out,” Bucky replied. “And we’ve really gotta move fast because that building is going to blow in like two minutes.”

He ran toward a large truck, and tried the door. Locked, but he could see a spare key dangling from the sun visor at the driver’s side. Bucky grabbed Steve’s baseball bat from him and smashed in the driver’s side window, then handed the bat back and climbed inside, brushing the glass off the seat. 

The others clambered in, Steve riding shotgun, and Bucky put the key in the ignition. 

There was a loud thumping behind them. Bucky looked in the rear view mirror and swore. Running toward them from around the building was Birkin. Where the giant eye had been, more tentacles had grown, and he was now skinless. He looked like an enormous, mutated version of the licker; even the gap in his head, from which more tentacles waved, now had sharp looking teeth. 

“Drive!” Steve yelled, and Bucky put his foot down. They drove fast to the gates, Sherry screaming from the back seat, and Bucky saw Steve take the last grenade from his belt, pull the pin, and lean out the window, throwing it directly at the creature, who was gaining fast despite the car’s speed. 

The grenade exploded at the creature’s feet, taking the creature with it, as they drove through the gates; a few seconds later, the whole car shook as the lab went up. Bucky drove on, watching in the mirror as fire consumed the building, and took a deep breath. Hopefully, the nightmare was all over. Now all they had to do was get to the base, drop off the formula, and try to somehow get back to normality. 


	16. CHAPTER 15 - DEAD END

The group were all silent as Bucky drove them through several small towns, all seemingly devoid of life. It was early on a Friday morning; people should have been milling around; taking kids to school, driving to work. But there was nothing. No cars on the road, no people. Not even any dogs barking. 

Steve watched out the window, towns turning to forest around them as the drive continued through the mountains. Usually on this drive there would be a lot of wildlife around—deer, and maybe even a bear. But again, it was preternaturally silent, with no sign of life. There wasn’t even any birdsong, although the forest was usually full of birds. 

_ It’s fine, _ Steve told himself.  _ Maybe they’ve gone into hiding from the creatures that escaped the lab _ . But deep down he knew that wasn’t true. Something was very, very wrong. 

“Do you think it’s spread this far already?” Bucky asked in hushed tones, giving voice to Steve’s fears. 

Steve turned to him. Bucky’s hands were gripping the wheel and there were worry lines around his eyes. 

“I don’t know,” Steve replied. “All I know is, the sooner we get to the safety of the base, the better.”

Bucky nodded, and they drove on.

Sherry was asleep in the middle of the back seat, leaning against her mom, who was sitting behind Bucky. The poor kid looked exhausted even in sleep—pale, with purple shadows under her eyes and creases on her forehead. She whimpered slightly, shifting, and Annette held her close until she calmed again. Annette too was pale, her eyes red as though she had been crying. Steve wasn’t surprised. To not only lose your husband, but to have him become something so monstrous that you had to watch him be killed? It wasn’t something that Steve would have wished on his worst enemies. 

The sun was well above the horizon now, but there were storm clouds overhead, darkening the sky. Steve wanted to laugh; given the dramatic nature of the past night, the weather reflecting their mood was almost funny. 

They’d been driving for just over an hour now. Steve could feel his body trying to relax, and he frowned. Given that they had seen no signs of life on the drive so far, it didn’t bode well for their arrival at the base. He had to stay focused. He had to. 

“How far now?” he asked Bucky, who shrugged. 

“About a half an hour, I think? I’ve never been to it but I know where it is.”

“Okay.”

They fell silent again. It was a heavy silence, and one Steve wanted to break. But what could he say? Small talk was out—that would be totally inappropriate, given the circumstances; he could hardly ask after Bucky’s parents and sister, knowing that Bucky might never see them again—and anything heavier… Well, there wasn’t anything he wanted to get into with Annette listening. Besides, what could he say, even if he had the opportunity? There was no point in bringing up the past, no point in bringing up what had happened between them. For all that he still had feelings for Bucky, Bucky had made it clear at the time that he didn’t feel that way. And he certainly hadn’t made any indication that his feelings had changed. 

No matter what Ada had said about it, Steve believed that Bucky had been honest with him at the time. Anyway, there was every chance that she had been manipulating him, trying to get him on her side. Nothing that she said could be trusted. 

They continued on highway 2 for another twenty minutes, then Bucky turned down a side road. After about half a mile, Steve saw the base coming up, and heaved a sigh of relief. They were nearly there. It was almost over. 

But when they pulled up to the base, there were no signs of life. No voices, no personnel waiting at the gate. 

“Are we too late?” Steve asked heavily. 

Bucky took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I think so. But they’ll have comms equipment that works. We can get backup down here. It shouldn’t take too long for them to come. And whatever might be in there, well. We’ve made it this far, right? What’s a little farther?”

“Okay,” Steve said, nodding. “Okay. Then let’s do this.”

“Bucky?” Sherry’s sleepy voice came from the back seat, and they both turned around to look at her. “Where are we, Bucky?”

“We’re at the military base, kiddo,” Bucky replied. “This is where we leave you and your mom. Steve and I have got to go in here, but you two are gonna take the car and drive somewhere safe. Okay?”

Sherry’s eyes filled with tears. “But I don’t want to say goodbye yet,” she whispered. 

“I know, kid. But we’ve got to.”

Bucky got out the car, Steve following. Annette and Sherry got out too, and Sherry limped over to Bucky, throwing her arms around his waist. “I’m going to miss you,” she said quietly, and Bucky smiled gently. 

“Yeah. I’m going to miss you too.” He paused, taking the hair tie from his hair. “Oh, hey, I’d better give this back to you!”

Sherry shook her head. “Keep it. So you don’t forget me.”

Bucky put the hair tie around his wrist and smiled wryly. “I’m never going to forget you, kiddo.”

He let go, and Sherry stepped back. Bucky turned to Annette. “The keys are in the ignition. Get to safety. Don’t stop until you know for sure that you’re clear of infected areas. You’ve got most of a tank of gas left. You need to stay safe.”

“What about Sherry’s medicine?” Annette asked. “We’re almost out…”

“I’m so sorry,” Bucky said, regret heavy in his tone. “I think that’s it. There’s gonna be no more, and the formula went up with the lab.”

“That’s okay, Bucky,” Sherry said, smiling bravely. “Maybe one day someone else will find a cure that isn’t dangerous and makes me really better.”

“Yeah. I hope so, kiddo,” Bucky said. Steve’s heart broke for the little girl. He didn’t know exactly what they were talking about, but figured that, given everything, it was something to do with the virus. 

“Thank you. For everything,” Annette said to them, helping Sherry climb back into the car before getting into the driver’s seat. They drove away, and Steve and Bucky waved until the car was out of sight. 

“Shit,” Steve said suddenly. “I left my bat in the car.”

“It’ll be okay,” Bucky said, although he didn’t sound quite as though he believed it himself. “There’ll be more weapons and ammo inside.” The ‘if we can get inside’ was implied, and Steve felt a cold shiver of fear. If they really were too late, given how little ammo they both had left…

Steve took out his gun and knife. Bucky did the same. 

“Let’s go,” Steve said. 

They approached the gatehouse, and Steve’s stomach churned. The guard was still inside, but his head was split open and his brain had been chewed so there was barely any left. His face was mostly gone too, as well as chunks from his arm. It was a grisly sight, and even Bucky had gone pale looking at him. 

The soldier’s identity pass was still on his lapel, and Bucky reached in to grab it. The corpse remained unmoving. Steve wondered if its brain had been destroyed enough that it wouldn’t come back. 

He hoped so, anyway. 

Bucky used the pass to open the gate, and they stepped inside. There was no one around, no signs of life anywhere. They both paused, listening. In the distance, they could hear groaning sounds. 

“Maybe it’s the wind in the trees?” Bucky suggested, then gave a short laugh. “Nah. We’re not gonna be that lucky.”

“Survival?” Steve said, grinning and holding out his fist. 

Bucky bumped his fist against Steve’s. “Survival.”

They walked further through the base, the wind whipping around them. Overhead, the sky had darkened even further. Steve wondered if it would rain. If it did, would there be viral runoff into streams and lakes? Would the virus spread even further?

In Bucky’s pocket was the printout for the antidote formula. They had to get it to the relevant authorities. They just had to. Steve understood now just how serious this outbreak was; how imperative it was that they get the antidote formula someplace safe. 

Somewhere they could make and distribute it before the virus spread even further. 

They walked around a corner, and stopped dead in their tracks. A flock of about twenty crows perched on the roof of a nearby building. On the ground were at least 100 infected soldiers, milling around. One by one, they looked around to where the pair were standing. One of the infected let out a low groan. 

Bucky and Steve exchanged a glance and began to back away, but it was too late. 

The crows took off, the noise of their wings beating almost deafening, and they began to dive bomb the pair. 

“Run!” Bucky yelled, and they began to sprint—left, away from the horde of infected, who were now staggering toward them. They were both firing off bullets at the crows, felling them as they ran. Steve spotted a door and pointed to it, and they raced toward it. They were almost there when Bucky tripped and fell. 

“Leave me,” Bucky shouted, but Steve ignored him, helping Bucky to his feet and dragging him by the arm to the door. 

It was locked. Bucky searched his pockets frantically for the keycard, but it wasn’t there. 

“Shit, where could it be?” Bucky asked, his tone panicked. “Did I drop it?” 

When they looked back they saw it, lying on the ground where Bucky had fallen. Then it disappeared as the infected approached, tramping over it. Steve’s heart sank. How were they gonna get out of this one?

“This way,” Bucky cried, leading Steve around a corner…

…Right into a dead end. 

There were three infected waiting there, and they lurched toward the pair immediately. Steve and Bucky went to work with their knives, stabbing the infected in their heads in an attempt to destroy their brains. It seemed to work, and the infected dropped to the ground. There was a low roof next to them, and the pair climbed up onto it. 

Steve began to fire into the crowd of infected as they approached, picking off a few of them, but there were so many. Bucky was doing the same, but soon he let out a curse. 

“Shit, I’m down to my last clip. What about you?”

“I’m almost out,” Steve confessed. “Do you think we could grab more from the infected? Some of them have weapons.”

Bucky shook his head. “There’s too many of them. It’d be suicide to even try.”

They stood side by side, as the infected surrounded the low building, reaching for them, grabbing at them. 

“Fuck, I think this might be it,” Steve said with a hoarse laugh. 

“No way, Rogers. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” Bucky was grinning, covered in blood and dirt, his long hair flying about his face in the wind. Steve thought he had never looked so beautiful. Bucky nodded to the roof of the building next to them. “Come on. Up and over.”

Steve grinned back. “Yeah. Okay. You first.”

Bucky clambered onto the higher roof next to them, then knelt down, reaching for Steve. Steve took his hand and began to climb, but slipped a little. A little was all it was, but it was enough for one of the infected to get a hold of his ankle. It began to drag him down into the teeming mass of groaning infected, and he let out a yell. 

Kicking his feet out, he thought he’d managed to get free, when he was grabbed again, and he felt teeth sinking into his leg. 

“Fuck,” he yelled, kicking harder. He managed to free himself again, but as Bucky pulled him up onto the roof, his vision started to gray out. He lifted a hand up to cup Bucky’s cheek, but his energy was sapping from him along with his blood, and his hand fell limply by his side.


	17. CHAPTER 16 - TRUTH SET FREE

“Oh shit, oh no, Steve no!” Bucky cried, frantic. There was no time to waste. Bucky didn’t know how long it took for the virus to take hold, but he couldn’t take any chances with time. 

He took out the case containing the antidote from his pocket, and opened it up. Two of the vials were smashed into pieces; it must have happened when he fell. But one was still intact, and he attached it to the syringe. 

“Fuck, Steve! Don’t you fucking dare die on me, you bastard!” he cried as Steve’s eyelids fluttered, and he stuck the needle into Steve’s arm, injecting him with the antidote. 

Steve took a deep, ragged breath… and stopped breathing altogether. 

“No, no, no!” Bucky yelled, tears welling in his eyes. He tipped Steve’s head back into the recovery position, and began CPR. Pumping hard on Steve’s chest, he began to count. 

“Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen,” he puffed, keeping going. “Twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty.” He paused, breathing twice into Steve’s mouth, then went back to the chest compressions. “One, two, three…”

Steve coughed and began to breathe again. His eyelids flickered open, and he looked up, confusion written all over his features. 

“Bucky?”

“Don’t you ever do that to me again, you absolute bastard,” Bucky said sitting back, half laughing, half sobbing. “I thought I’d lost you for a second there.”

“Nah,” Steve replied with a grin. “Can’t kill me that easily.” He sat up, wincing. “That bite hurts like hell, though.”

Fuck. Bucky could have cried with relief, but he somehow managed to hold it together. Instead, he tucked his feet underneath him. 

“You’d better rest for a minute.”

“I’m okay,” Steve said, scowling. 

Bucky laughed. “Steve. You literally just nearly died. Rest for a minute for Christ’s sake.”

Steve frowned, but nodded. “Fine.”

They sat for a few minutes in silence, until Steve’s breathing was completely back to normal, then Bucky stood and held out his hand. “Come on,” he said gruffly. “We’ve got to find a way inside so we can access the comms equipment.”

They walked together across the roof, looking for a way in. Bucky led the way, with Steve limping along behind him. After about ten minutes, Bucky was nearly ready to give up. 

“I think we’re going to have to get onto the ground,” Bucky said. 

Steve frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. There are too many of them.”

“I don’t know what else we can do.”

Bucky could feel helplessness over taking him, and Steve put a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find a way,” he said softly. 

Bucky nodded, steeling his resolve. “Yeah. Come on.”

They continued on, and a few minutes later Steve gasped. “Look!”

Bucky followed Steve’s finger, and grinned. There was a window set into the side of the adjoining building. 

“Let’s do it.”

Bucky used his gun to break the window, bashing the muzzle against the thick glass until it finally smashed inwards. He reached in and opened it, then climbed inside. There were two infected inside, and Bucky got the closest one with his knife. The second began to lurch across the room, and Bucky aimed his gun, firing and hitting the infected right between the eyes. The back of its head blew out and it dropped to the floor. 

Steve limped up behind him. “Where to?”

“No idea,” Bucky replied with a harsh laugh. “We’ll look in here first, then move on.”

Steve nodded, but the silence was heavy between them. They both knew that the further they had to look, the more chances they had of running into more infected. And if that happened… Given their lack of ammo, there was a good chance that neither of them would make it out. 

“Bucky?” Bucky looked up. Steve was grinning, a satellite phone in hand. “This what you’re looking for?”

Bucky held out his hand, unable to stop a smile spreading across his face, and took the phone from Steve. It only had thirty five percent battery left. Hopefully that would be enough for a conversation long enough for them to get help. 

He dialed the head of his old battalion, hoping and praying that he’d pick up. He nearly cried with relief when the phone was answered. 

“ _ Lieutenant Colonel Peters _ ,” said the familiar voice, and Bucky nearly tripped over his words in his rush. 

“Sir, it’s Sergeant Barnes.”

“ _ Barnes? Not that it’s not great to hear from you, but what the hell are you calling for? _ ”

“I’m in some trouble, sir. I was in Raccoon City, working as a research scientist at the lab there. Raccoon city has been compromised—we’ve just had a viral outbreak. I’m at the Ben Howard Military base, but it’s been compromised too. My friend and I need an exit, sir.”

“ _ Yes, Barnes. We’re aware of the situation. _ ”

The lieutenant colonel’s tone was flat, and Bucky felt ice run through his veins. “Will you be able to get us out of here, then?”

“ _ Negative _ ,” came the reply, and Bucky’s heart dropped into his feet. “ _ We can’t risk personnel on an extraction for just you and your friend. _ ”

“What?”

“ _ It’s too much of a risk. I’m sorry. _ ”

Bucky narrowed his eyes. “I have a physical copy of the antidote for the virus, if that would be of interest to you.”

There was a moment of silence. Then Peters spoke again. “ _ We’ll see what we can do. _ ”

“Damn right, sir,” Bucky said sharply. 

“ _ Can you get to the helipad on the roof? _ ”

“Yes, sir.”

“ _ Then get up there. A chopper will be with you in about twenty minutes. _ ”

“Thank you, sir.”

“ _ Don’t thank me yet, Barnes. You’re going to have a hell of a lot of explaining to do. _ ”

The line went dead, and Bucky heaved a sigh of relief. “They’re sending a helicopter for us. It’ll be here soon. Come on.”

“Why do I get the feeling that it wasn’t that simple?” Steve asked, as they climbed back out the window onto the roof.

“Because it wasn’t.” Bucky led them over the roof to the helipad. “They’re only coming because I have the formula.”

“Sounds about right.”

They sat down next to it to wait. On the ground below, several infected were milling about, occasionally taking chunks out of each other. It was pretty gross. Bucky looked away, to Steve, who was watching the scene below, grimacing in disgust. 

“What’s up?” Steve asked. 

“Do you think Ada made it out?”

Steve shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. She could handle herself. But there was no sign of that chopper she said she called, so…”

“I’m sorry.”

Steve looked at him, confused. “Why?”

“I just thought…” Bucky stopped. It was none of his business anyway. “Never mind.”

“Wait, Buck, did you think…?” Steve laughed softly.”No, no, Buck. There was nothing between us, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Steve gave him a small smile. 

Bucky took a deep breath. “Steve, I’ve been meaning to… I’m so sorry about what happened between us all those years ago.”

Steve’s expression shuttered. “Forget it, it’s fine.”

“No.” Bucky shook his head. “I reacted badly, and I…”

“You let me down gently,” Steve said slowly. “It was fine. It’s in the past. Water under the bridge.”

“Yeah, but then I stopped talking to you and…” Bucky paused, frustrated with his lack of articulation. ”I was so freaked out. I didn’t want to be gay. I didn’t want… I didn’t want to have those feelings for you I had. I wanted to be straight, I wanted to be a perfect soldier, I wanted to be…” He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing thoughts. “I had this image in my head of what I needed to be. I couldn’t be in the military if I was gay. Don’t ask, don’t tell was still a thing then, and I knew that if I wanted a career I was going to have to shut off that part of myself entirely.”

“Buck…” Steve’s eyes were wide, as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Buck, don’t do this.”

“No. I need to say this. I have to explain. I owe you that much. I was in love with you, but I thought I was safe. I never thought you’d feel the same way about me. And then when you kissed me, it terrified me. I wish I’d handled it differently. I know you’ve probably forgotten about it and whatever, but. I’m sorry.” Bucky frowned, looking at his feet. “I just… I’m sorry.”

Steve sighed heavily. “I never forgot, you know? I missed you, all these years. Especially when my mom died. God, I wanted you to be there so bad.” Bucky swallowed down something that felt like guilt. “I’m glad you came to me last night, I’m glad you knew you could still trust me.”

Bucky took a deep breath. “Do you think we could maybe start again?” he asked in a whisper. 

“I…”

The distant sound of a helicopter interrupted whatever Steve was going to say, and they both stood, watching the helicopter get closer. Bucky was almost glad of the interruption; if Steve’s answer was a no, then maybe he was better off not knowing. 

He felt something brush against his hand, and looked down, watching as Steve slipped his own hand into Bucky’s, threading their fingers together. Bucky’s heart soared, as Steve gave him a shy smile. 

“I think we can do that,” he said quietly, and Bucky grinned, overcome with happiness. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

The helicopter landed next to them before Bucky could do more than squeeze Steve’s fingers. Which was probably just as well, really, he mused. They were exhausted, dirty, and covered in blood. Not the best circumstances for their first real kiss. 

They climbed into the helicopter, the promise of later on both their minds, and sat next to each other.

“Sergeant Barnes?” one of the guys sitting opposite asked. 

Bucky held up his hand. “That’s me.”

“We have instructions to take you both into military quarantine. Please give us the formula for the antidote.”

Bucky shook his head. “First up, neither of us is infected. Secondly, I’m not giving this formula to anyone with a rank lower than a lieutenant colonel. I don’t care what you’ve been told,” he continued, seeing the man opposite was about to speak. “This is highly sensitive information that I don’t want to get into the wrong hands. It stays with me until we land.”

“Sergeant Barnes…”

“No,” Bucky growled. “You can try and take it from me by force, but it’s been a hell of a long night and I wouldn’t recommend you try me.”

The two men sitting opposite exchanged a glance, and sat back. Bucky stayed on his guard, however. He didn’t trust either of them. 

Steve bumped his shoulder against Bucky’s, and Bucky shot him a wavering smile. Once they landed, they’d have hope. They’d be able to figure out what they were to each other now. 

The rest of the journey was spent in silence, and as they came in to land, Steve squeezed his hand again. 

It would all be okay.


	18. CHAPTER 17 - THE BEGINNING AND THE END

_ Seattle, Washington, 3rd November 2020 _

So nothing worked out the way you thought it was going to. 

Steve looked out over the city from his new apartment. He could see the Space Needle from his living room window; the street below was busier than he was used to in Raccoon City. 

Raccoon City, which no longer existed. Nor did the surrounding towns. 

When the helicopter had landed, they’d been met by several military personnel, who had separated him and Bucky. Bucky had been taken away, while Steve had been led into what seemed to be an interrogation room. 

He’d been tested for the virus, and questioned for what had seemed like hours, fueled only on the coffee they’d given him and and residual adrenaline. He had also been ordered—not asked—to give the whole story. 

Despite hating being ordered around in that way, Steve had sighed and told them his story, in as much detail as he could. He left out Annette and Sherry, of course. He wasn’t going to put them in danger. But he’d told them everything about Ada, and Hydra, that he knew. 

Steve had then been ‘debriefed’—basically told that he should keep his mouth shut about the whole incident if he knew what was good for him. In return, he would be amply compensated, and given a job as a Captain in the Seattle police department. Steve had no option but to comply. He’d lost everything, with no hope of returning to Raccoon City. Not with the infected, and the mutations. 

Not that those mattered now. The following day, all cities and towns in the ‘infected zone’ had been destroyed in an airstrike. The official word was that a deadly contagion had been released from the lab and everyone was already dead. They had to ‘cleanse’ all sites of infection. There was a national day of mourning for the four hundred thousand dead and missing. Steve was asked by his new coworkers for details, but all he would say was that he’d been out of town when it had happened. They’d sympathized on a very basic level, but only those with family in the affected areas were honestly empathetic. 

Bucky had been nowhere to be found. 

Steve didn’t know what they’d done to him; if they’d kept him locked up because of his part in the creation of the virus, or if they merely wanted to get every speck of information from him. And maybe he’d forgotten what he’d said to Steve on the roof. Maybe he hadn’t meant it. 

But here Steve was, two and a half weeks later, settled into the new apartment that he’d bought with the ‘compensation’ he’d been given. It was a lot of hush money—almost a million dollars—and he’d been able to fully furnish the apartment too. He mourned the loss of his photographs, especially those of his mom. He still had one in his wallet, and he bought himself some drawing pads and pencils, sketching her from memory and hanging the pictures on his bare walls. 

It was starting to look more like home. 

He turned away from the window and sighed. Maybe he should order take-out. He didn’t really feel like cooking. 

Pizza ordered from one of the many local pizza places, he settled down on his sofa and switched on the TV. It was an episode of Judge Judy, and he changed the channel immediately, his skin crawling. 

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Confused, Steve got up to answer it.

There stood Bucky, a sheepish smile on his face. 

“You’re not the pizza guy,” Steve said, grinning. 

“Can I come in?”

Steve grabbed him, pulling him in for a hug. “Fuck, of course you can. Where have you been? I was so worried!”

Bucky shrugged. “They took the vial of the virus, and the formula for the antidote. Then they kept me on the base until they were satisfied I wasn’t a threat. That was, oh, about two hours ago. They paid me a lot of money to keep my mouth shut, too.”

“You’re not the only one,” Steve said, smirking. “Like my new place?” He paused. “How did you find me, anyway?”

Bucky stepped inside, eyes wide. “Wow, Steve. This is a really nice place! And, uh.” Bucky looked at him, eyes shining with mirth. “You’re listed now. In the online directory.”

“Oh. And thanks, I kinda love this place.”

An awkward silence fell, as Steve tried desperately to think of something to say. 

At length, Buck laughed. “This is stupid. Look, I meant everything I said on that rooftop. I’d like to start over. Do you think you’d maybe still want that?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, Bucky. I want that.”

“Can I kiss you?”

Steve nodded again, and Bucky cupped Steve’s cheek with his palm, pulling him in for a soft kiss. 

“Worth waiting for?” he asked with a smile as he drew back. 

“Yeah, Steve,” Bucky replied. “You were always gonna be worth the wait.”


	19. EPILOGUE - CHANGE THE SCRIPT

_ Seattle, Washington State, Twelve Years Later _

“Did you get pickles?”

Steve scrunched up his nose, making Bucky want to kiss it. “You and your pickles. I don’t know why I indulge this addiction. You know they give you night farts?”

“They do not!” Bucky retorted hotly, even though it was true. “How dare you. Maybe I’ll find myself a better husband who doesn’t slander me like this.”

Steve took Bucky’s left hand, lifting it to his lips and kissing the platinum ring which adorned his third finger. “Nah, I don’t think you would,” he said softly. Bucky fell in love all over again. 

They turned the corner of the supermarket aisle, almost knocking over a young woman. 

“God, sorry,” Bucky said, then paused as he and the young woman stared at each other. “Sherry?”

“Bucky?” the young woman squealed, and threw herself on him. He only just managed to catch her, arms coming up to wrap around her. She buried her face in his shoulder, and he smoothed her blonde hair with his hand. 

“God, Sherry, what? How?”

Sherry pulled back, wiping at her eyes and laughing. “I never thought I’d see you again,” she managed. 

“Me either. I was worried…”

Sherry smirked. “Yeah, well, I’m a survivor, Bucky.”

“You always were, kiddo.”

She smiled wide at that. “The… the stuff my dad created, it slowed down the development of my disease. Even after I had to stop taking it. I started researching for cures myself, and I found stories about a plant in the Midwest that seemed to help people like me. Sounded like nonsense, but turned out there was something in it, and it keeps the wolves from the door.” Her smile turned shy. “And now I’m at the University of Washington studying biomedical sciences, and my thesis is finding a cure for myself. Don't worry,” she added quickly. “I’m not  _ that _ kind of scientist. Not like my dad was.”

“I never thought you would be,” Bucky told her, pride shining in his eyes. 

“And you guys are still friends? That’s awesome!” 

Bucky and Steve shared a glance, then Bucky held up his left hand to show her his ring. “Little bit more than friends, kiddo.”

“Oh. Oh!” Sherry blushed, then laughed. “But you’re both happy?”

“Yeah. We are. And you?”

“Yeah. Life is good.” Sherry squeezed Bucky’s arm. “You still got my hair tie?”

Bucky could tell she was joking, but he answered her solemnly. “Of course. It’s in my bedside cabinet. For safekeeping.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“I told you I’d never forget you, kiddo.”

Sherry hugged him again, tighter than before, and eventually let go. “I’ve gotta go. I have class soon,” she told them. 

“Take my number,” Bucky said quickly. “We’d love to have you round for dinner sometime. Catch up on everything.”

“I’d like that.”

When Sherry had left, Steve squeezed Bucky’s hand. “You okay, Buck?”

“She’s okay,” Bucky whispered. “She’s okay, and she’s all grown up.”

“Yeah. Thanks to you.”

Bucky shook his head. “Nah. I just got her out of Raccoon City. She made it on her own.”

“Survival, right?”

Bucky looked into his husband’s blue eyes. “Not just survival,” he said, and smiled. “ _ Living _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're done!!! Thank you everyone who made it this far!!! This was some journey, and I really hope you enjoyed it. If you like, find me on Twitter, where I am also velvetjinx!


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